


Venomous

by BabyAce



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Dark Magic, F/M, Harry Potter - Freeform, Hogwarts, Magic, Magic-Users, Manipulative Tom Riddle, Muggles, Original Character(s), Quidditch, Witches, Wizards, Young Tom Riddle, bear with me, gonna add more as i go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-25
Updated: 2017-12-22
Packaged: 2018-12-15 00:41:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 34,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11794842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BabyAce/pseuds/BabyAce
Summary: Tom Riddle, a fifth year student at Hogwarts, Prefect, and one of the brightest kids to have ever gone to the school. One day a girl stumled into class, and has him very intrigued, which is unusual for someone like Tom Riddle who does not see the appeal with humans, or human interactions that does not benefit him in any way.Will Valerie Campbell be able to save the young Riddle from going dark, or is he going to drag her with him into it?





	1. Late Night Encounters

**Author's Note:**

> Oh, boy. Here I go again.
> 
> This fanfiction is spawned from my daydreams of one of my first crushes Tom Riddle (portrayed by Christian Coulson bc dad, hello).
> 
> Can't promise that I will upload every week, but I will try my best. Thanks.

Who was she? Tom had never seen her before. Never had he noticed the girl with the long blonde hair until she stumbled into class, late.

“I’m sorry, professor.” she had mumbled under her breath as she lowered her head in embarrassment before taking a seat. The class went on as usual, only Tom could not take his eyes off of her. She was holding her quill in such a delicate way as it swiftly scribbled down the words onto the paper. He had noticed that she was wearing a ring on her middle and pinky finger. He focused his gaze and saw that it was a vine in silver that wrapped around her middle finger, but he couldn’t make out what the other ring was.

“Mr. Riddle.” Tom heard his name be called. He snapped up and looked at the professor that stood in front of him, his hands resting on his hips in a stern manner. “Are you paying attention?”

“Yes, sir.” Tom answered, blinking a few times in an innocent way. “Sorry, sir.”

The professor huffed, and mumbled something under his breath before turning around to continue the class. Tom turned to look at the girl who was sitting by the table next to him, only to see that she was already looking at him. But as soon as their eyes met she had turned to look down at her ring instead, spinning it around her finger. The moment had been brief, but Tom had time to notice that her eyes where a greenish blue, and that they had a special spark to them. A spark he couldn’t quite read.

Never had Tom been so intrigued by another person before. There was just something about her that was so unique, something he had never seen before. There was almost like an aura around her that made her surroundings glisten as she walked past. The way her hips swayed lightly as her blonde hair bounced against her back. The way she laughed, and the way her voice chimed like thousand delicate bells as she spoke.

She was a Slytherin, just like him. It was something that Tom appreciated. Slytherin was the best house, after all. He had seen her in the common room multiple times. She would usually sit in one of the sofas, reading a book while twirling a strand of her hair between her fingers. She seemed to like reading, Tom had noticed as he had seen her multiple times in the corridors, carrying a bunch of books from the library.

He had always wanted to talk to her, but had yet to come up with something clever to say to peek her interest.

* * *

 

Tom tossed and turned in his bed, not being able to sleep. He had been awake all night, thoughts flooding his mind. Thoughts about dark things he would not dare telling anyone, not anyone but himself. But also thoughts of the girl. Valerie Campbell. There was something about her that he just could not seem to let go, no matter how hard he tried.

Tom propped himself up on his elbows, his gaze wandering over the dark, cold walls of the dormitory. He let out a deep sigh and ran his fingers through his hair, realising that he would not be able to sleep for a long while.

He got out of bed as quietly as possible and put on his uniform and robe, combing through his dark hair to make it look as perfect as possible. He straightened his tie one last time before he grabbed his wand and went out into the dark corridors of the school. Being careful not to wake anyone of the Slytherin boys.

“Lumos.” he said quietly, letting the tip of his wand light up and show him the way. He had decided to go to the library to find a book that could bore him to sleep. Tom liked books and had read most of those that they had in the library, but he thought that there had to be a book he would not find interesting. If he looked hard enough.

He sneaked into the library and started to scan the bookshelves for something he could read. For long he looked through the shelves, not finding anything that he knew would bore him. As soon as he thought he found a book he would find boring he surprisingly enough got stuck reading it for a couple of pages before snapping out of it.

A thud from behind him made him tear his gaze away from a book he had picked out. Tom quietly put it back where he found it in a shelf and popped his head out to look in the direction he had heard the sound come from. In the distance he could see a blue light shining bright inbetween two bookshelves. He whispered ‘nox’ to extinguish his wand-lighting charm before slowly starting to walk towards the light, trying to be as quiet as possible.

He noticed that the light came from the Restricted Section and he could not help but to smirk as he walked closer, wondering who could be out of bed this late scattering around in a forbidden part of the school. But his smirk dropped as he saw who was standing there. The blonde hair was covering her face as she leaned over a book she held in her hands, but he knew it was her. He would never mistake her for another person.

Tom stood completely still, his eyes wandering from her black patent shoes to her glistening hair. She did not seem to notice him standing behind her as she was too caught up in the book she was reading. Tom did not know what to do. His mind was divided in half. Was he going to speak to her, or turn around and leave?

He did not get to decide what he wanted to do before his wand slowly slipped out from his grasp and fell against the floor, making the sound of the wood clattering against the marble echo through the large room. Valerie let out a gasp as her head snapped back, her eyes locking with Tom’s. He stood still, trying to comprehend what was happening as he blinked in attempt to get used to the bright light being casted at his face.

“Hello.” he said after a while, nodding towards the shocked girl with the wide blue eyes.

“Hi.” she answered with a small chuckle, aiming the wand away from his face as she noticed how he was squinting in attempt to block out some of the light. The two kids continued to look at each other, neither of them saying anything for quite some time.

“You’re not going to tell on me, are you?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. He could hear how she had tried to brush it off as a joke, but there was an undertone of worry in her voice.

“No.” he shook his head, finally being able to tear his gaze away from her face. He bent down and picked up his wand from the floor, putting it in the pocket of his robe along with his hand. He stood up straight again and saw that she was still looking at him, her eyes wandering over his face as if she was suspicious of him.

“Tom Riddle, right?” she asked, a small smile spreading across her lips.

Tom nodded, his lips curving into a smirk at the sight of her smile.

“And you’re Valerie Campbell.”

“I am, indeed.” she nodded, a chuckle escaping her once again. “So, what are you doing here this late at night, Tom?” she asked.

“I’m a Prefect.” he stated and pointed to the little badge on his robe.

Valerie followed with her gaze to where he was pointing and pursed her lips before looking away from him, nodding her head understandingly.

“And you, _Valerie?_ ” he asked, letting her name slowly roll off his tongue. “What are you doing wandering around after curfew?”

“I-” she hesitated, looking back at Tom and letting her gaze wander over his face. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“Is that so?” Tom smirked, seeing how nervous she was getting by his question.

She nodded in response, once again pursing her lips into a thin line.

“Well, I guess I better go.” she said in a meek voice after another moment of silence. She placed the book she was holding back into the shelf before walking towards the exit. Tom turned around to follow her with his gaze as she walked away from him in a fast pace.

“I guess I will see you around, Tom.” she turned around to say before disappearing, her wand lighting up the way before her, and leaving Tom alone in the darkness of the library.


	2. Parasite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. 
> 
> Cool to see that you decided to give this story a chance by reading the second chapter. I appreciate that. 
> 
> Thanks.

Valerie snuck back into her dorm room, silently taking off her robe and sliding into bed. Her mind was racing, flooded with one thought, and one thought only; Tom Riddle.

A boy with so much mystery to him, yet was so simple. He was different from the others, she thought. It was not difficult to see, but she could not quite understand how. It was not only that he was a very handsome young man with dark brown, wavy hair that was always so perfectly styled, or his mesmerizing bright grey eyes. It was those things together with his chiseled cheekbones, straight jawline, and most importantly, his gentleman-like behaviour.

Tom was clearly a very intelligent boy. Valerie had never seen him take any notes in class, yet he always seemed to ace every single exam the professors gave them. He was always sat in the far back of the classroom, his hands clasped together on the desk in front of him. Valerie on the other hand always had to take notes that she could use as help when studying. She would try and sit as close to the professor as possible so that it would be easier to pay attention, but there was always something that distracted her.

She could always feel how Tom’s stare was burning into her back. He had done it ever since she came into class late that one day where she had gotten lost in the huge school. Valerie tried to ignore it and brush it off as delusion, but it kept burning and it became hard to concentrate when all she wanted to do was turn around and see if Tom was really staring at her like she felt he was. One day she had turned around, and he had indeed been staring at her. Valerie had felt how her cheeks heated up as her gaze met with his, and quickly turned around again and ignored him for the rest of the class.

Now she had talked to him, for the first time. Valerie had no clue why he was in the Restricted Section in the first place. She remembered that he had told her he was a Prefect, but she didn’t quite believe that he needed to check the Restricted Section since no one was allowed in there.

Valerie felt how she got anxious, the feeling washing over her like a tidal wave. What if Tom would tattle to Dippet and tell him that she was in the Restricted Section of the library in the middle of the night? Her stomach churned as she turned to lay on her back, staring up at the dark tester of her bed. Her fellow Slytherin girls’ light snoring was the only thing that could be heard in the dormitory apart from the soft sound of the water lapping against the windows, but Valerie’s thoughts spun around inside her head, louder than the other sounds.

 _“No, he wouldn’t. He said so.”_ she thought, trying to convince herself. He had been there as well, and her instinct told her that he would not tell on her, since he should not have been in the Restricted Section either.

After an hour of debating with herself she finally managed to fall asleep, her mind still flooded with the thought and image of Tom Riddle.

* * *

 

Valerie went through her whole next day thinking that Tom had told on her, suspecting that everyone knew she was going to get expelled but her. She had not managed to get him out of her head since their encounter in the library the night before. He was like a parasite that had latched onto her brain.

When she arrived to class later in the afternoon, she saw that Tom was already sitting by the table in the far back, like he always used to do. She felt how her heart stopped for a split second as she saw his backside. His dark brown hair so perfectly styled, leaving only a piece of his pale neck visible before the collar of his white button up shirt took over. Valerie hesitated for a while, clutching the books she held to her chest hard before swallowing and approaching the boy.

As she walked past him she turned her head to look at him, seeing that he was already looking at her with his bright eyes. To Valerie’s surprise Tom flashed her a small half-smile, making her quickly turn her head around as she felt how her cheeks heated up. She sat down behind the desk in the front of the classroom, trying to calm herself down as her heart was racing in her chest.

“Stop being so silly.” she whispered to herself, shaking her head as she looked down at the table, spinning the ring she wore on her middle finger around. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Pardon?” she heard a voice say. Valerie looked up to see professor Slughorn looking at her with wide eyes.

“Oh, it’s nothing.” she said, a bit embarrassed. “Sorry, sir.”

Slughorn’s eyes roamed over her face before nodding slowly and turning around to start the class.

Valerie tried her best to try and concentrate on what Slughorn was teaching, Potions was her favourite class after all, but she felt bothered by the dark haired boy in the back. Not only did she feel him staring at her, but her mind kept going to that anxious side where she was worried he had told on her. She had tried to convince herself that he would not do that, but it seemed like her mind had her own life, and it told her otherwise.

Everytime professor Slughorn’s gaze would meet hers she would feel as if he knew what she had been doing, and that she was going to get into trouble. She felt as if he was going to call her out in front of every student sitting in the dungeon when she least expected it.

Valerie felt a bit calmer when the class was over and Slughorn still had not said anything. All students began to pack up and leave the classroom, their laughter and chatter filling the cold dungeon. Valerie also began to pack up when she heard professor Slughorn call her name, making her heart start racing in her chest.

“Are you okay, miss Campbell?” he asked her. She looked up at him with worried eyes, trying to calm her breathing before speaking.

“I’m fine, sir. Thank you.” she mumbled with a nod, standing up from her chair with shaky hands and weak legs.

“Are you sure?” Slughorn asked, his voice filled with disbelief and concern. “You didn’t seem to be too keen in class today, and I must say that you happen to look more pale than usual.”

Valerie took a deep breath and nodded her head.

“I’m sure, professor. I must’ve slept badly tonight, that’s all.” she tried to convince him by flashing him a small smile, but it did not seem to work very well.

“Okay then,” he said with a sigh, nodding. “I’ll see you around, miss Campbell.”

Valerie nodded slowly before spinning around on her heel and walking out of the dungeon that felt colder than it usually was. Maybe she was about to get sick, and that was why she had troubles concentrating.

Her gaze was glued to the floor as she walked, and therefore she did not notice the boy standing outside the classroom, waiting for her. She did not notice until she heard him clear his throat.

“Valerie.” she heard his velvet voice say calmly. The sound of his voice sent a jolt through her body as her head snapped up, her gaze meeting his.

“Tom, hi.” she said with a weak smile, trying to keep herself calm even though she felt like her mind was screaming at her. “What are you still doing here?”

“Oh, I was just waiting for you.” Tom explained, nodding towards her with a smirk playing on his pink lips.

“And why is that?” she chuckled nervously, feeling how her cheeks once again heated up at the sight of his ever so enchanting smirk. “Are you stalking me?” she joked, trying to play the situation of as light and playful.

“Perhaps.” Tom answered, a playful spark glistening in the corner of his eye.

Valerie felt a giggle escape her mouth as she looked down at her feet, feeling how his intense stare got hard to handle. She cleared her throat to make herself calm again before looking up to meet his gaze that was still locked at her.

“I have to ask you something, Tom.” she said in a lower voice, trying to find a tone that sounded serious. Tom’s eyes roamed over her face as if he was trying to read what she was about to say, his smirk dropping. He nodded to let her know that she had his permission, but even though his eyes were calm, perhaps even kind, his facial expression was dull, making Valerie feel a bit anxious.

“Have you told anyone?” she asked, stroking a strand of hair behind her ear. “About last night, I mean.”

That smirk of his returned to his face as he snorted silently, looking at Valerie with an amused look pasted onto his face.

“Would you be scared if I did?” Tom asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.

It was not the answer she had expected from him, as Valerie thought what she had said was a simple yes or no question, and she felt a bit taken aback by his response. She stuttered a bit before managing to speak properly, her eyes still locked with his.

“N-no.” she stated, furrowing her eyebrows as she shook her head. “Or- I mean, I wouldn’t want to get in trouble, that’s all.”

Tom rose his eyebrows, his smirk growing wider as his adam’s apple bobbed. It was very clear that he thought the conversation was amusing, which Valerie did not quite agree with him on.

“Trouble?” asked Tom.

“Yes, trouble.” Valerie said with annoyance hinting in her voice, getting impatient with his cocky playfulness. “Aren’t you afraid of that, Riddle?” she added, trying to make herself look less like a coward by putting him in the same position.

“Perhaps, perhaps not.” Tom said, putting his hands into the pockets of his robe. His cocky look remained on his face, as if he was mocking her for being scared of getting expelled from the school.

“Well, I’ll have you know that if you tattle to Dippet I will make sure to tell him that you were there as well.” Valerie snapped, cocking an eyebrow at him. “Because I know for a fact that Prefects aren’t supposed to be in the restricted section either.”

Tom’s smirk grew into a smile, showing off perfectly straight, white teeth. He chuckled and tilted his head to the side, his eyes narrowing a bit in that same cocky playful way.

“You’ve got a bit of fire to you.” he noted, licking his lips in a way that made Valerie feel a bit flustered, but she did not know why exactly. “I like that.”

Valerie did not get the chance to answer him before he started walking away from her. She kept looking as he walked further away, his hands still in the pockets of his robe as it flowed slightly behind him like a mist.

Before Tom started heading up the stairs he turned around, looking at her with a half-smile spread across his face.

“Don’t worry, Campbell.” he said in his velvety voice. “I won’t _tattle_ to Dippet about your little adventure last night.” a small chuckle escaped him before he turned around again and walked up the stairs.

Valerie stood still for a while, trying to comprehend what had just happened, Tom’s chuckle still seeming to echo in the dungeon. The way he had emphasised on the word ‘tattle’ made her confused as she did not understand why he had done it. She swallowed hard and clutched the books in her arms before heading for the stairs as well, remembering that her next class would start in a little while, and she did not want to be late again. The last time she was late to class a boy had begun to stare at her and act weird, and she did not feel like she needed that to happen again.


	3. A Favour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, wow. Today is the day. The day, 19 years later.
> 
> I truly can't believe that it all ends today. This is truly the end, and I would be lying if I said that I haven't been crying since I got home from school today. It is so amazing how much something can matter to you, and to think of how much a movie, film, tv-show, or anything else, can influence you so much and follow you through life.
> 
> Harry Potter has been with me for most of my life, I can't remember a life before Harry Potter. I have grown up with them and it makes me so sad that they're only a memory now. But they're a fond memory and I will always hold on to it, forever.
> 
> After all this time?  
> Always.

She was not as skittish and shy as he had thought she was. When Valerie had made an attempt to threaten Tom in the dungeon it had only peaked his interest. She really was a peculiar witch, nothing like he had ever seen before.

He wanted to talk to her more. No, he  _ needed _ to talk to her more. There was something about her that was so intriguing that it made it hard for him to stay away, or even stop looking at her. Tom could not quite put his finger on it, but he knew that he wanted to find out more about her.

Tom knew he could go to the library to look up her family there, like he had done with his own when he first got to Hogwarts a few years back, but he decided that he was going to be civilised and actually try to get her to tell him instead. He felt that if he would ever do that to a person, it would be her.

So instead he went to go and find her. He checked the Slytherin Common Room first, and although there were other students there Valerie was nowhere to be seen. Next up he thought of the Study Hall. Valerie was commonly found sitting in there, doing her homework or studying for an upcoming exam. She seemed to be a bright girl, but she had to work to get there, something Tom never had to do.

But Valerie was not in the Study Hall either, and Tom began to get frustrated. Hogwarts was big and the chances of finding her were small as she could be moving around as he did. Tom was just about to give up and go back to his room when it hit him.

She could be in the library. She was probably in the library, of course. That was where she was most of the time, when she was not studying, that was. Tom got frustrated at his own stupidity and went towards the library with decisive steps. He was walking fast, being afraid to miss her, and he was constantly looking around to see if she was in the any of corridors he passed.

He was too caught up in watching his surroundings that he did not notice the pile of books he rammed into, making him fall to his knees accompanied by a low grunt from him as the books were scattered all over the floor, also making a grunt, in a higher pitch.

Tom looked up and saw that there was a girl with long blonde hair sitting before him, propping herself up on her elbows. To Tom’s relief it was not just any girl, but the girl he had been looking for for the past hour or so.

“Valerie,” he said, masking his smile with a smug smirk so she could not tell how pleased he was to finally have found her. “I am so terribly sorry.”

“Wow, Riddle.” Valerie said, changing her position so that she was kneeling instead of sitting, and started to pick up the books that were scattered in a mess inbetween and around the two of them. “You really  _ are _ stalking me, aren’t you?”

“Small world.” Tom stated, helping Valerie to pick up her books.

Valerie scoffed, flashing him a quick glance.

“Right.”

“So,” Tom said as he handed her the books he had managed to pick up from the floor. “Where are you heading?”

Valerie took the books from his hand and stood up, Tom following her movements by standing up as well. Her eyes narrowed as a hesitant smile spread across her face.

“Are you sure you aren’t stalking me, Riddle?” she chuckled and shifted the books around in her arms to make it more comfortable for her.

Tom hesitated, realising that what he had said could have come off as creepy, but brushed it off. He put on his most charming smile and slid his hands in the pockets of his robe.

“Just thought that if we were heading in the same direction I could be my generous self and help you carry all of those books you’re holding.” he said, nodding towards the books. “As a favour. I did actually knock both them and you down to the floor, after all.”

She looked down at her feet- a habit she seemed to have, Tom noticed- and chuckled slightly. When she looked up to meet his gaze again Tom could notice that her cheeks had turned into a light shade of scarlett, which he happened to find somewhat comely.

“Well, I am flattered.” she admitted, nodding her head approvingly. ”Thank you, Tom. I am actually heading back to the Common Room.”

Tom rose his eyebrows and cocked his head slightly to the side, his smirk turning into a half-smile that showed off some of his teeth.

“What a coincidence.” he said and reached out to offer to take her books. “I just so happen to be going there myself.”

Valerie scoffed once again, and sent him a look of disbelief as she handed him the books.

“How come you went in the opposite direction then?” she asked, obviously not believing him.

Tom started walking, holding Valerie’s books in his arms as he tried to come up with something to say that would sound believable.

“You see, Valerie.” he began, turning his head to make sure that she was coming with him. “I am a Prefect, and I just so happen to be walking around this school to make sure it is safe for all students here.”

“You sure use that entitlement a lot.” she chuckled, quickening her pace so that she could walk by his side instead of behind him.

Tom chuckled, but did not know quite how to answer her statement, so instead they walked in silence back to the Slytherin Common Room. Not that Tom found it awkward or anything in that sense. He enjoyed her presence, seeing her walking beside him as she curiously looked at their surroundings. Tom noticed that she was actually quite a lot shorter than himself, her head only reaching his shoulder as they walked side by side. He found it to be quite charming, and only added that something to her as a person.

“Thank you, Tom.” Valerie said as they walked into the Common Room. “For being a good Prefect and taking care of your fellow students.”

Tom gave her a half-smile as he handed her the books, chuckling.

“Thank you for being a good student and letting me take care of you like the good Prefect I am.”

Valerie shook her head as she adjusted the books in her arms, a slight giggle escaping her lips.

“I’ll see you later, Prefect.” she said and saluted him before turning around to sit down in the sofa by the fireplace she always sat in when she was reading.

Tom smiled to himself as he put his hands behind his back. She was quite the charming one, he thought to himself. He liked that. She was not like ordinary people. Tom stood and looked at her where she sat in that sofa, twirling a strand of hair inbetween her fingers as those glistening greenish blue eyes scanned the pages of the book she had in her lap.

“Riddle.” he heard a meek voice say from beside him, forcing him to tear his gaze away from Valerie. He looked down slightly to see a first year look up at him with big brown eyes. She was a very slim, petite girl with waist-long brown hair and freckles speckled over her pale face. Tom recognised her as Hollie Holmes.

“Yes?” he asked, blinking a few times at her.

“C-could you- w-would you, want to show me wh-where the Study Hall i-is?” she managed to stutter out, clearly being very nervous to talk to him. Tom noticed that she was frantically tugging onto the sleeves of her robes to try and calm herself down.

“But, of course.” he said with a small smile, acting like it would be his pleasure. He placed his hand between Holmes’ shoulderblades and gently pushed her forward to walk her to the Study Hall, even though he would rather be around Valerie. It was important for Tom to keep up his innocent, perfect facade, and helping first years were the perfect cover up. Especially since he knew that professor Dumbledore did not trust him.

He dropped the little girl off by the Study Hall and asked if she was going to be alright, which she responded to by saying that she was. Tom said goodbye to Holmes after she had thanked him for being so kind to her, and started walking to take care of some important things before supper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got very sappy up there, and I hope you can forgive me for that. I am a very sentimental person and I tend to hold things- that are dear to me- very close.
> 
> Thank you.


	4. Supper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Wow, BabyAce, are you really uploading two chapters on the same day?"
> 
> "Yup, I have no life."
> 
> (and also to get this fic started bc so far it's kind of boring lol)

Valerie noticed how Tom stood where she had left him, looking at her as she was pretending to read the book she had opened up. She was distraught by his behaviour. Valerie thought it was creepy of him to stare at her all the time, but a part of her thought it was flattering, exciting even. Having a handsome boy seem so interested was something she was not used to, and she kind of liked the attention he was giving her. Especially since she knew how other girls swooned over him.

But Tom was interrupted by Hollie Holmes, a first year student, who wanted him to show her the way to Study Hall. To Valerie’s surprise Tom had actually been very kind to the girl, and escorted her there. His voice had been soft and filled with compassion, something so different from the way he was talking to her. When Tom spoke to her his voice would sound confident, charming in a way that made her feel flustered. It was nothing like the gentle voice he used towards the first year girl.

“Hello, Val.” Valerie heard a voice say. She looked up to see Brian, one of the Slytherin boys, smiling at her. Brian was also a fifth year student like herself, and was one of the few people Valerie could actually stand in the school. Him not making it a big deal over the fact that she had transferred from another school was something she valued greatly. Everyone else seemed to whisper about her in the corridors as transferred students weren’t the most common things. Valerie believed she was the first student to have ever transferred to Hogwarts.

“Hi.” she smiled, looking him up and down while waiting for whatever Brian wanted with her. But as Brian only stood still, smiling at her, she decided to nudge him a bit. “What’s on your mind this lovely evening?”

“Just wondering if you would mind going to the Great Hall with Lynda and I for supper.” Brian said, his amber coloured eyes glistening in the warm light of the fire coming from the fireplace beside them.

Valerie thought for a while. She liked Brian, and Lynda too, and it would be a good opportunity for her to finally make some friends since she was not too sure that she could call Tom her friend. Brian kept looking at her with a smile playing on his lips, but she could tell that he was getting a bit anxious as she did not answer him. He ran his fingers through his ash blonde hair while clearing his throat.

“Well?” he asked, chuckling awkwardly. “I mean, it’s okay if you don’t feel like it.”

“No, yes.” Valerie said, shaking her head and closing the book she was holding. “I’d love to join you.”

Brian’s smile grew wider as he heard her response. He took a step back from the sofa Valerie was sitting in and looked around as a small laugh escaped him.

“Great! Are you ready now, or do you need to freshen up a bit first?”

“No, I’m fine.” said Valerie, and stood up. “I just need to leave my book in the dormitory. I will be right back.”

Brian nodded and took another few steps back so that Valerie could walk past him without any complications. She walked towards the Slytherin girls’ dormitory thinking about what had just happened. She had just been invited to eat with two other students, and not just any students, the two students she actually did not mind in school. Valerie was not the most hateful person, but she could get tired of people really easily, especially if they acted like they were better than everyone else. Or treated her like she was an alien, and a freak.

When she came back to the Common Room again she saw that Brian and Lynda sat in one of the sofas, laughing and chatting with each other.

“Ready?” asked Valerie, putting her hands in the pockets of her robe as she flashed the two students a smile.

“Yeah.” Lynda nodded, and skipped up from the sofa. They began walking towards the Great Hall, while lots of other kids flooded the corridors as it was almost time for supper.

“I just wanted to say that it’s really nice of you to agree to eat with us. We are really glad that you wanted to.” Lynda said as they were about to enter the Great Hall.

“Of course.” Valerie laughed slightly in confusion and surprise. “Why wouldn’t I like that?”

“Oh, I don’t know. You just seem like the type of person who likes to keep to themselves.” Lynda shrugged her shoulders. “We didn’t actually think you’d agree to it, but Brian wanted to ask you nonetheless.”

Brian looked at Valerie and gave her a coy smile. He was an extremely tall boy. Taller than both her and Lynda. His lanky frame really made him stand out from the crowd, and so did Lynda with her dark purple hair and emerald green eyes.

“Really?” Valerie chuckled. “Well, thank you for inviting me. I just haven’t met anyone interesting enough since I came here.”

“That’s right, you came here later than everyone else, didn’t you?” Brian asked as they all sat down by Slytherin’s table.

“That I did.” Valerie nodded, pursing her lips as she looked around the grande hall. It was now crowded with students and professors, and she could see that there were still more to come.

“Why?” asked Lynda.

“Pardon?” Valerie’s head snapped back from the enterance to look at Lynda who sat opposite from her.

“Why did you come here later than everyone else?” Lynda repeated, blinking a few times with her thick black eyelashes.

“Oh, I transferred from another wizarding school, that’s all.” Valerie shrugged her shoulders, stroking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“May I ask why?” Brian asked, leaning closer to her from where he was next to Lynda. His eyes were peaked with interest, wandering over her face like she was from another planet. Valerie began to feel uncomfortable, and regretted her decision to join them for supper.

“I just didn’t like it very much.” Valerie mumbled, looking away from the two kids who seemed to study her like something in one of the jars from Potions Class.

“Okay, you don’t want to talk about it.” Lynda said, waving her hand around as if she was trying to chase the subject away. “That’s okay.”

Valerie looked back at Lynda and flashed her a small smile, grateful that she understood her and did not pressure her to say anything about it.

They changed the subject and began to talk about the next Quidditch game that was supposed to be in a few days instead. Brian was one of the Beaters on the team while Lynda was only a spectator. She did not like playing herself, but she enjoyed watching the games. She explained that it was exciting but that she also watched to see when Brian failed and got hurt as she thought it was hilarious. Valerie laughed along with the two kids, and realised that she had started to like them. They were both very funny and had a great friendship that she admired.

Lynda also explained that they had been friends since childhood. They had first met on the first day at Hogwarts when Brian had fallen down on his way to the table after the Sorting Hat had sorted him into Slytherin. Everyone had laughed at his clumsiness, and Lynda had laughed the loudest of them all. Valerie had asked how Brian would want to be friends with someone as mean as that but he explained that she had helped him as he had stumbled to the table afterwards. She did not laugh at him in a mean way, it was just the way she was.

Right as supper began Valerie spotted Tom rushing into the hall. He scanned the whole room with his stare before sitting down by the table, a few feet away from where Valerie and the other two were sitting. Valerie followed him with her gaze as he walked to sit down, his robe flowing behind him in that dramatic way it always seemed to do, and watched him sit down with some other boys she did not know the name of.

Tom sat on the same side as Lynda and Brian so it was easy for Valerie to see him, even if he was sitting quite far away from them. She could not seem to tear her gaze away from him. She was thinking of where he had been, and why he came so much later than everyone else. Why he was having such a stern look to his face, and if he knew the boys he sat next to.

Right as she was looking directly at him, Tom’s eyes found hers. When Tom saw her staring at him that smug smirk of his spread across his face as he cocked an eyebrow at her. Valerie felt her cheeks heat up, something that seemed to become a habit of hers as he did that face, and turned away to look at Brian and Lynda instead.

“What was that?” Brian asked with a laugh. “Are you okay? You look like a Horklump, minus the black bristles, of course.”

“A what now?” Valerie said, her eyes narrowing slightly as she tilted her head to the side in confusion.

“A Horklump. It’s a creature that looks like a mushroom, but it’s actually an animal. It only exists in Scandinavia at the moment, but I’m sure they’ll start to pop up here as well, soon.” Brian explained with a nod, showing some food into his mouth.

“Brian loves reading about magical creatures and nature.” Lynda explained once she saw Valerie’s confused, slightly frightened face. “He’s weird like that. Sometimes I wonder why he was sorted into Slytherin in the first place.”

“Okay, then.” Valerie chuckled, taking a sip from her pumpkin juice. As she did so she looked over at Tom, seeing that he was glancing over at her as well. His smirk spread across his face once again as he was chewing some food. Valerie rolled her eyes to play it off like she did not actually feel a jolt in her chest, and sat down her drink, following her movements with her gaze.

“So,” said Brian, swallowing the food he had in his mouth before continuing. “What is it that you’re looking at?”

“Oh, it’s nothing really.” Valerie shrugged, shaking her head.

Both Lynda and Brian turned their heads into the direction Valerie had been looking, their eyes wandering across the hall.

“Oh, Merlin.” Lynda exclaimed with a chuckle. She turned back to look at Valerie, a smile spreading across her face as her green eyes glistened with excitement. “Are you looking at Tom Riddle?”

“No, no.” Valerie denied, shaking her head once again as she scrunched her nose in an attempt to make it look like she was disgusted by that.

“I hope not.” said Brian, turning his head to look at Valerie as well. “I don’t trust him.”

“Why not?” Valerie asked, looking up at Brian. She was actually interested in what he had to say about Tom since Valerie knew so little about him herself.

“I don’t know. He just seems too perfect.” Brian mumbled, a crease forming inbetween his eyebrows. “I mean, he’s got great- no, excellent grades, and he got to be a Prefect this year. Wouldn’t surprise me if he became Head Boy in seventh year.”

“Maybe he’s just like that.” Valerie shrugged her shoulders, glancing over at Tom, seeing him as he was listening to one of the boys who sat opposite to him talking.

Brian scoffed.

“You really believe that?” he shook his head. “No, I don’t believe you’re that thick, Valerie. There’s something up with that bloke, I swear.”

“Perhaps.” Valerie mumbled, nibbling on her bottom lip as she tore her gaze away from Tom’s face, looking down at the plate of food in front of her instead. Her mind began to cloud with different theories about the dark haired boy, and who he was as no one seemed to know for sure.


	5. Under A Spell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> I just really wanted to say that I appreciate you deciding to read this story, and giving it a chance, it really means alot to me. Especially since I know that there are some bomb ass HP fanfics out there.
> 
> Anyways, here's another chapter for ya since it's Friday. :]

The next morning Tom rushed to his first class in hopes of running into Valerie. He did not know exactly what he was going to do if he actually ran into her, but he knew he had to hear her voice, get to look directly into her ocean eyes, and feel her presence. To Tom’s relief he had managed to get to class before her. He stood in the entrance of the classroom and waited for her.

He watched as several kids walked past him and get ready for class, but Valerie did not seem to show up. Tom began to feel a sense of discomfort forming inside of him, yet he could not quite understand why. There was something about her lack of presence that made him uncomfortable as he knew that she was in this class, and that she was always on time. Except from that one time where he had first seen her.

Tom began to scan the greenhouse in hopes of seeing her stand somewhere, thinking that he might have missed her passing him. But he did not see her golden blonde hair anywhere, making that ball inside of him grow bigger. He was just about to walk out of the greenhouse to go find her when he heard footsteps approaching.

As the footsteps came closer he turned his head to see that it was Valerie walking towards the classroom. She was carrying her books in her arms, pressed to her chest as always, and her hair was blowing in the breeze as she walked down the corridor. Tom could see how she spotted him, but as soon as their eyes met she turned her gaze away to look straight forward instead, pretending like she never saw him in the first place.

“Valerie.” Tom called quietly so that only she could hear. Valerie stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Tom, her eyes wandering over his face for a short while before she opened her mouth.

“Not now, Tom.” she mumbled, glancing over at professor Beery who stood in the greenhouse, his back turned against them. “Class is about to start.”

Tom was just about to say something when Valerie walked past him and stood by the table as close to the professor as she possibly could, next to Brian Greengrass, one of the two students Tom had seen her sit with at supper the night before. Tom let out a frustrated sigh before he, too, went to stand in his usual spot in the far back of the classroom.

The frustration Tom felt inside of him after getting snubbed my Valerie kept bothering him during class. He stood up straight, his posture stiff, as he kept a close look on Valerie. Even if his hands were resting behind his back he kept tapping silently with his fingertips on the back of his hand. He tried to understand what he had done to her that would make her react like she did, but he could not come up with anything that made sense.

Except for the fact that she had eaten supper with Greengrass and that girl, Lynda O’Berlin, the evening before. Tom wondered if that was what made her attitude change so drastically towards him. That half-blood Lynda and that abomination of a pureblood had probably indoctrinated her with terrible things about him. Lying and manipulating her to think things about him that were not true.

Tom’s rage rose inside of him the more he thought about it. He chewed the inside of his cheek to keep him still to the point where he could feel the metallic taste of blood fill his mouth. His breathing was heavy, trembling as he struggled to keep calm where he stood, knowing that he could not throw a fit. He would not let himself do it. He had to keep his act up.

* * *

 

After what seemed like an eternity the class was over, and Tom rushed out to wait for Valerie outside of the greenhouse so that he could confront her in private. He stood right outside of the door, impatiently tapping with his shoe against the ground as he watched students rush out from the greenhouse. As soon as he saw Valerie he grabbed her by the fabric of her robe and pulled her to the side.

“Tom, what are you doing?” Valerie exclaimed, her voice shaking a bit as he took her my surprise. “What’s going on?”

“I need to talk to you.” was all Tom managed to say in a quiet voice as he dragged her away from the crowd.

“What is it?” Valerie asked once he stopped behind a corner. Her eyes were wide as they wandered over his face in a mixture of worry and confusion.

Tom did not know how he would manage to speak in a calm voice to answer her question. He tried to calm down by clenching his jaw, looking around to see if there were people around them that could witness what was happening.

“Tom.” Valerie said in a stern voice, trying to make him look at her.

Tom finally looked back at her, meeting her gaze that had begun to show frustration instead of worry.

“What are you doing?” Tom managed to say in a low voice, tilting his head forward so that he could look more directly into her eyes.

“What am _I_ doing?” Valerie asked, furrowing her eyebrows. “What are _you_ doing, Tom?”

“Why did you snub me off like that before class?” he asked, grinding his teeth in an attempt to keep calm.

“I did not do that.” she denied, shaking her head.

“Yes, you did!” Tom exclaimed, almost losing his temper. He quickly shut his mouth and looked around them once again to see if there was anyone nearby. Lucky for him there were no witnesses there to see what was going on. He turned back to look at the blonde girl who looked a bit frightened by his outburst.

“I-” she stuttered out before her words died out. “Class was about to start, Tom. I didn’t want to get professor Beery upset with us.” she explained, her eyes calming down slightly.

Tom swallowed hard, his eyes looking into her greenish blue ones as he tried to see if she was tricking him, but her eyes were filled with nothing but wonder and concern.

“Are you okay, Tom?” she asked, tilting her head slightly to the side, reminding Tom of a small puppy.

“Please stop saying my name all the time.” Tom sighed, closing his eyes to try and calm himself down.

“I’m sorry.” Valerie apologised, her voice sounding a bit confused, and her eyes continuing to roam over his face.

Tom took a deep breath before opening his eyes to look back at her.

“Did you have a good time last night?” he asked, changing the subject from him and his hatred for his name. Valerie’s confused expression blended in with a hint of surprise at the sound of his question. She looked at him like she could not quite believe what he had said.

“Sure.” said Valerie. “Why?”

“I saw that you’ve got friends.” Tom swallowed once again, trying to suppress the annoyance that built up inside of him at the thought of the two Slytherin abominations.

“Yes, I did. They’re kind, I suppose.” Valerie shrugged, her expression showing that she had no idea why Tom was asking her these questions or why he was acting so strange.

“They are?” Tom smiled, but there was no hint of friendliness in his smile, it was as cold as the dungeon where they had their Potions Classes. “That’s good.”

Valerie nodded slowly, furrowing her eyebrows in concern.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Tom sighed.

“Okay.” Valerie cleared her throat and turned her head to look further down the corridor. “Well, I need to go or else I’ll miss my next class. Goodbye, Tom.” she said, and began to walk away from him.

“Valerie, wait!” Tom exclaimed, making Valerie spin around to meet his gaze.

“Yes?”

“I will see you later, right?” Tom was just as surprised by his words as Valerie seemed to be. Her eyes widened a bit as she chuckled awkwardly.

“Sure.” she said with a small smile before turning around to disappear to her next class.

Tom stood still, trying to process what had happened. He had almost lost his temper, questioned Valerie, and also asked if she wanted to see him later? He had no idea what had gotten into him, but he knew that she was the cause. No one had ever had that sort of impact on him before, and there was something about the fact that she did that made Tom feel uncomfortable. He did not need people in his life, especially not friends.

How come that a blonde little stranger had that sort of power over him and managed to make him feel things he usually would not feel around other people? It was like she had him under some sort of spell, and Tom did not like it. He was usually the one being able to persuade people, manipulate them to do whatever he desired. But this, this was different.


	6. Amortentia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I am uploading another chapter on the same day, but this is probably gonna be the last time I do it bc the story is starting to pick up now (lol not really, but yeah) and I don't have the time and motivation to upload two chapters a week.
> 
> Thank you.

“So,” Lynda began as she sat down next to Valerie by Slytherin’s table in the Great Hall, her green eyes glistening with excitement. “How’s it going with Riddle?”

Valerie scoffed, and shook her head as she stared down at her hands that were resting on the table.

“Huh?” Lynda taunted, nudging her by the shoulder.

“There’s nothing going on between Tom and I. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Valerie laughed, looking up at Lynda again with a smile.

“Yeah, okay.” Lynda rolled her eyes in a jokingly manner and leaned onto the palm of her hand with her elbow resting on the table. “That’s why you’re blushing right now, and that is also why you’re referring to him by his first name.”

Valerie opened her mouth to say something but was dumbfounded, not knowing what to say, so instead she shook her head and turned to look at Brian who sat opposite to the girls, grinning like a fool.

“What’s up with you then?” she asked Brian, trying to change the subject. “Found any new weird, Scandinavian, animal mushrooms?”

“No,” Brian shook his head. “I just think it’s funny to see how you react everytime we talk about  _ Tom.” _ he said, imitating Valerie’s voice as he was saying ‘Tom’.

“Oh, just clog it.” Valerie laughed. “He’s nothing but a bloke that I happen to talk to sometimes.” she added, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly.

“Whatever.” said Lynda, throwing her hands up in defeat.

“So there’s nothing going on?” Brian continued, leaning closer to Valerie over the table. “You’re not in love? Not secret lovers? No nothing?”

“No!” Valerie exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock at Brian’s words as she shook her head.

“You’re not even friends?” Brian asked, tilting his head to the side, teasingly.

“I don’t know, I suppose not. We have only talked a few times.” Valerie shrugged her shoulders, looking down at her hands while spinning her ring around her middle finger.

Brian smiled a bit as he rose his eyebrows, leaning back again as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Well, then I have got some news for you, my friend.” he said triumphantly.

“Yeah? And what’s that?” asked Valerie, looking up to cock an eyebrow at him. She was intrigued by what he had to say, but at the same time she was suspicious that it would lead back to Tom once again as they seemed to enjoy teasing her about it.

“It just so happens that there is a boy who’s a wee bit infatuated with you.” Brian looked at her, trying his best to look mysterious, but his childish gleefulness shone right through it.

Valerie swallowed hard as she heard those words come out of his mouth. Her heart seemed to skip a beat, the first thing coming to her mind being an imagery of Tom looking down at her, his smug smirk placed upon his face in that way only he could do.

“And who’s that?” Valerie managed to say after staring at Brian for a while, her voice hoarse from the lack of saliva in her throat and mouth. She swallowed once again as she waited for Brian to answer her.

“Jonathan.” Brian said, his smile continuing to shine with glee.

“Who?” asked Valerie, feeling how her heart dropped slightly in her chest. She supposed it was because she did not recognise the name, pushing away any other reasons as to why she reacted that way.

“Jonathan Wilson.” Brian’s smile faded as he saw Valerie’s confused expression. “He’s also in Slytherin, you know. Sixth year.”

Valerie furrowed her eyebrows, trying to recall someone by that name but no one came to mind.

“Sorry, I don’t think I know who he is.” she apologised, shaking her head slowly.

Brian’s eyes widened, his jaw dropping as he leaned closer to her over the table once again.

“Jonathan Wilson. Brown hair, brown eyes, tall.” he rambled, trying to put a picture inside of her head. “The seeker for the Slytherin Quidditch team for Merlin’s sake!” he exclaimed once he saw that Valerie’s facial expression was just as clueless.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think I know who he is.” Valerie shrugged, seeing as Brian leaned back once again, his hand covering his forehead as he pretended to look offended by looking away from Valerie.

“Wait,” Valerie added, making Brian look back at her. “Was he one of the boys who sat with Tom during supper last night?”

Brian closed his eyes and let out a sigh as he burried his face into his hands. Lynda, on the other hand, bursted out laughing, throwing her head back in amusement.

“Wow, is he everything you ever think of?” she laughed, wiping away a tear from the corner of her eye. “How did you get Riddle into this?”

Valerie pursed her lips, a wave of humiliation washing over her. She looked down at the table to avoid Lynda’s stare, feeling exposed, and judged.

“No, it’s just that I saw him sitting with some boys last night that I didn’t recognise, so I figured that this Jonathan could’ve been one of them.” she mumbled, shrugging her shoulders.

“Whatever,” Brian exclaimed, throwing his hands out. “This is not about Riddle or his squadron of human puppets, it is about Jonathan.”

“What do you mean ‘squadron of human puppets’?” Valerie asked, tilting her head questioningly to the side.

Brian let out a deep sigh as Lynda started snickering beside her.

“Stop thinking about prep boy now and focus on the fact that Jonathan Wilson fancies you.” he demanded, slamming his hands onto the table, making people around them throw dirty looks their way.

“What am I supposed to say about that?” Valerie asked, shaking her head and throwing her hands out. “I don’t know the boy.”

“I advise you to get to know him.” Lynda slid in, nodding approvingly. “It could bring some benefits.”

“Like getting rid of Riddle.” Brian added, his expression filled with disgust, loathing even, as he uttered Tom’s name.

* * *

 

When Valerie was done with her classes for the day she went to sit down in Study Hall to study some potions since there was supposed to be a small exam the next day. The hall was almost empty, only a few other kids sitting in small groups, probably studying as well. Valerie decided to sit in the corner of the table with the least amount of student around it, hoping not to get disturbed.

But half an hour into studying she felt someone sit down next to her. Valerie looked up to see those grey eyes stare down at her. Those grey eyes that she had tried so hard to get out of her mind for the whole day.

“Tom.” she greeted him nonchalantly before looking back down into her book again.

“Valerie.”

Valerie waited for him to say something else, but nothing could be heard coming from that mouth that was so good at curving into smug, charming smiles. Valerie tried to ignore his presence, and continued to read and write down notes she thought would be important, but she found it hard to concentrate with him sitting so close to her, staring at her.

“Can I help you with anything, Riddle?” she asked, looking up to meet his gaze.

“Not exactly,” Tom said, that smirk of his spreading across his face. “But I think I can help  _ you _ , Valerie.”

Valerie furrowed her eyebrows, not understanding what he was talking about. Tom seemed to notice her confused expression and let out a small chuckle before he took the quill she was holding from her hand.

“You won’t need to write these things down.” Tom explained, and dipped the quill in some ink before delicately stroking it over her notes of the ingredients on how to create Invigoration Draught.

“Slughorn does not value the potion very highly, it’d be best if you didn’t attempt it.” he told her.

“Thank you.” Valerie said quietly, feeling a bit uncomfortable as Tom was practically leaning over her to make changes in her notebook. He was so close to her that she could inhale his scent. A sweet scent that reminded Valerie of cherries, and something else she thought was peppermint.

“You’re welcome.” Tom said as he leaned back to his former position, still holding Valerie’s quill in his hand. Valerie looked up at Tom, seeing him as he was looking down at her with a small smirk playing on his lips. She looked him in the eyes, realising that there was a hint of green in his grey orbs, adding some sort of unexplainable warmth to them even though Tom was not exactly the warmest person.

“Also.” Tom added, breaking the eye contact by looking down into the book Valerie had on the table in front of them both. He started flipping through the pages until he stopped at a potion pictured in a small pink, heart-shaped bottle.

“Amortentia.” Valerie said quietly, recognising the bottle.

“Yes.” Tom mumbled, looking up from the book to glance over at Valerie, “You know what it is?”

“Well, yes, but not that much.” Valerie shrugged her shoulders, scooting closer to the book, and therefore also getting closer to Tom. “I know that it’s a love potion, the most powerful one there is, but not much else.”

Valerie could feel how Tom kept looking at her face as she spoke, not breaking away. After she finished explaining what she knew about the potion she looked to meet his gaze, feeling how her heart pattered a bit faster as she was sitting so close to him.

“Exactly.” Tom nodded, looking down at the book once again. “It is very advanced and I think that if you could do this in class tomorrow you’d get a high grade for it.”

“But Tom,” she said, looking at the side profile of his face that was displayed in front of her. “I don’t know how to do it.”

“Lucky you’ve got me here, then.” Tom looked up from the book and into her eyes, his smirk turning into a cheeky half-smile that sent a jolt through Valerie’s body.

“You know how to make this?” asked Valerie, trying to brush of the feeling in her stomach like it was not there.

Tom nodded slowly, his eyes flickering down at the book before connecting with Valerie’s eyes again.

“I have known it for quite some time.”

“Well, Riddle.” Valerie chuckled, a small smile spreading across her face. “You are so very welcome to teach me how to create this powerful love potion.”


	7. Resentment and Loathing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!
> 
> Another chapter for you. There isn't too much happening, I believe, but you get to take a look into the peculiar mind of Tom Riddle.
> 
> I hope you enjoy. I am actually going to see IT tonight so I'm very excited about that! :] (not that it has anything to do with this fanfic, I just wanted to tell you bc I'm super excited. haha)
> 
> Thank you for reading!

“Tom.” she said quietly, almost as if she was afraid to speak his name. Tom looked down at her where she was walking by his side, hugging her arms as she was looking down at the floor.

“Yes?” he asked, his voice just as low as hers. She was quiet for a while, trailing on her words.

“What happened?” she asked after a moment of silence. “This morning, I mean.”

Tom recalled how he had lost his temper, how his act he had held up for so long had faltered because of her. He was not proud of it, he knew he had to be more careful next time, try and suppress his toxic emotions that bubbled up. Maybe someday someone would see him showing his true colours, and it would all be over.

“What do you mean?” Tom asked nonchalantly, pretending not to remember how he had scared her.

Valerie stopped in her tracks and looked up at him, her eyes narrowed slightly and her eyebrows curved in disbelief.

“You know what I mean, Tom, don’t play stupid. You’re more than that.” she claimed, her voice stern to show that she was serious.

Tom sighed, swallowing hard as he shifted Valerie’s books that he held in his arms to find a more comfortable position for them. He let his eyes wander everywhere but Valerie’s face.

“I got out of hand.” Tom admitted, finally meeting her gaze. “I apologise.”

His voice was low, yet he managed to keep it charming and full of confidence as if he was speaking normally. He looked deep into her ocean eyes, trying to make her understand that his apology was sincere. It felt odd, Tom had never apologised to someone before, and meant it. Valerie nodded without tearing away her gaze from his. She did not know why but she found it easy to forgive him even though what he had done had been completely shocking and inappropriate.

“Okay.” she responded, her voice a mere whisper as she felt hypnotised by his deep eyes. They stood silent for a while, their eyes flickering between each others face and eyes. Tom felt himself staring at her rosy cheeks, thinking that they looked to be as soft as peaches. His eyes wandered to hers, seeing how her eyes were green around the pupil, transcending into a blue similar to the colour of the sky. Tom couldn't help but to think they looked quite compelling, pretty even. His gaze wandered down to rest on her lips. Pink, plump, soft.

“We better get going.” said Valerie, breaking the silence that had formed between them. “So that we won’t miss supper.”

She began walking, leaving Tom standing for a little while longer, his stare following her as she started to hurry down the corridor, her eyes once again meeting the floor as she hugged herself tighter. He let out a silent chuckle seeing her that flustered, knowing he had caused it, and began to walk in order to catch up with her.

“So,” Valerie began, trying to break the awkward silence that had crawled upon them as they walked towards the Slytherin Common Room. “How come you know so much about Amortentia?”

“I like reading.” Tom shrugged, looking down at the petite girl by his side.

Valerie nodded understandingly, continuing to look down at the floor. They were both silent again, walking side by side as they got closer to the Common Room. Tom felt like he wanted to say something, talk to her, and hear her chiming voice, but he did not know what to say. He felt as if there was nothing they had in common, that she was too pure for him and his mind. He could not trust her.

“Thank you for carrying my books for me.” Valerie smiled, taking her books from Tom’s arms as they stepped into the Common Room.

“My pleasure.” Tom nodded. His eyes were locked with hers, innocent and kind, but his facial expression remained emotionless. Not even as much as a small smirk could be seen, which Valerie thought was unusual as she thought Tom was always seen seen with a smug smirk as he was talking, or even just looking at her.

“Hello, Val.” Lynda O’Berlin greeted, putting a hand on Valerie’s shoulder as she walked up behind her. Her eyes flickered up to look at Tom, her facial expression showing nothing but loathing and resentment.

“Hi.” said Valerie, turning around so that she could look at O’Berlin. As soon as Valerie turned around O’Berlin dropped her facial expression to look at Valerie with a bright smile.

“Ready for supper?” O’Berlin asked, her voice bright and excited, making Tom’s stomach turn as if he was going to be sick.

 _“Filthy half-blood. You are just as pathetic as all the muggleborns.”_ he thought, but did not say anything.

“Uhm,” Valerie trailed, turning her head to look back at Tom where he was still standing in the same position. “I-” she began, but Tom cut her off.

“I will see you around, Valerie.” he said, nodding before turning around to walk away from the two girls. He did not want to be around mudbloods, nor did he want Valerie to know how much loathing he had for them. He thought it would be best to leave her alone, for now.

“Okay, goodbye, Tom.” he heard Valerie respond, stuttering a bit as she seemed confused by how he had walked away from them so abruptly, only giving her a small glance before leaving.

Tom walked with a fast pace up to his room, his mind divided in half. His hatred for all the muggleborns and half-bloods, and how they continued to steal the only person he had ever taken an interest in. Taking her away from him, and pushing him away. He was convinced that one day Valerie would push him away as well, as they would all have indoctrinated her.

But why would he care anyways? Never had he needed people around him, never in his life had he ever felt the need to feel love, affection, friendship even. Tom felt as if there was no point to it. Why love when you get nothing from it? With love comes vulnerability, with vulnerability comes pain, with pain comes destruction. No, he did not need that, and that was why some people thought of him badly. Who could live a life without love?

Tom put his hands on the dresser in the Slytherin boys’ dormitory, staring up at himself in the mirror.

He knew he had a tendency of scaring people away, making them think that he was terrible and incapable of being good. That he had learnt from his childhood at the orphanage. The orphanage which he hated with all of his living being. He knew that some people disliked him at Hogwarts as well, whether it was because he was smarter than them or because they did not trust him. He might have fooled most of the students and teachers, but of course there were some who were sceptic, like Dumbledore for example.

Yet another person Tom resented. No, he hated him. Tom hated Dumbledore, just as much as he hated the orphanage. He knew Dumbledore did not trust him, and how he treated him differently from the other students at Hogwarts.

Tom let out a deep sigh, running his hand over his face and through his hair. He swallowed and stood up straight, straightening his tie and fixing his hair with a simple charm before he decided to walk to the Great Hall for supper. Hopefully he would see Valerie sit there. One thing he actually did not dislike in his life.

Once he stood by the entrance of the Great Hall he scanned the room, seeing how all the student were stuffing their faces with the food that was served. Tom looked up to see all the teachers in the front of the room, eating and chatting with each other as they watched over the students. He locked eyes with Dumbledore, seeing how he was looking directly at him. Tom nodded in his direction to greet him before walking to sit down with Avery and Lestrange by the Slytherin table.

During supper Tom would talk to his group of so-called-friends. He did not actually like them nor did he care for them, but it was important for him to keep up the act of being the perfect boy and student, and what sincere, perfect student did not have friends? Another benefit of pretending to be friends with the other boys were how he could persuade them to do whatever he wanted, as if they were his servants.

As Tom was talking to his friends he would glance over to look at Valerie where she sat a bit away from them, closer to where the teachers were sat. She was sitting with O’Berlin and that abomination of a pureblood Greengrass. By the looks of it she seemed to have a good time. She was smiling, chatting. Tom could even hear her tinkling laugh echo through the grande hall, blended together with the chatter of the other students.  

Tom thought that he would leave her alone, for now. He had to spend some time with his “friends”, as well, in order to not only keep up with his reputation, but also still have them wrapped around his finger.


	8. Potion Exams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> This chapter is very messy, I know. I'm sorry, and I do hope that it's okay anyways.

When Valerie woke up the next morning in her bed she was flooded with a feeling of anxiety almost in an instant as she recalled that her exam in potions was today. She jumped up from her bed so fast that it made some other girls in the room turn to look at her, but Valerie did not notice.

“You okay?” Lynda asked from across the room. Valerie turned to look at her friend, seeing that she was still sitting in bed, her dark purple hair messy as a bird’s nest ontop of her head, some of it falling down to cover her face.

“Dandy.” Valerie said, putting her thumbs up quickly before proceeding to make her bed.

“You don’t seem very  _ dandy _ to me, Val.” Lynda said, side-eyeing her for making her bed without the help of a charm, and walked up to Valerie where she had rushed over to get dressed. “What is it?”

Valerie was pulling the grey vest over her face as Lynda asked her question so she could not answer her, and as soon as she had pulled it down Lynda’s intensely green eyes widened, her mouth opening wide as she grabbed Valerie by the shoulders.

“Oh, I remember!” Lynda exclaimed, shaking Valerie as her black fingernails gently dug into her shoulders. “You have that exam in potions today, right?”

“Yes, thanks for reminding me.” said Valerie sarcastically. She shrugged loose from Lynda’s grasp and walked towards the mirror to tie her tie, but she struggled as her hands were trembling like aspen leaves.

“Let me help you with that.” Lynda offered and turned Valerie around. Valerie let out a sigh and tilted her head up in order to let Lynda tie it for her.

“You’re gonna be fine.” Lynda reassured her, her gaze fixated at the green and silver tie. “What potion are you going to make?”

Valerie trailed for a while, feeling how her anxiety grew as she thought of the ever so advanced potion that was so strange to her. She had not known how to make it, or known any of the ingredients, before yesterday when Tom had been teaching her.

“Amortentia.” she mumbled, her fingers connecting in front of her so that she could fidget with her ring.

Lynda stopped her movements, her gaze finding its way to Valerie’s eyes instead of the tie.

“Pardon?” Lynda blinked. Valerie was about to open her mouth to repeat herself, but Lynda stopped her by waving her hands in front of her. “I heard you, I heard you.” she said as she took a few steps back from Valerie.

Valerie bit her bottom lip as she turned to look into the mirror again, managing to fix the rest of the tie herself, and tucking it in underneath the vest.

“You know how to make that?” Lynda asked, her voice sounding surprised, almost baffled. “It’s truly a powerful potion.”

“Yes, I hope so.” said Valerie, taking a deep breath while straightening out her clothes, still keeping her gaze locked with her reflection in the mirror to avoid Lynda’s stare.

“Who taught you that?” Lynda asked, her voice lowering slightly. She took a step towards Valerie and leaned to the side to try and look her in the eye.

“Tom.” Valerie said simply after hesitating for a while, knowing Lynda would turn it into a big deal. After she said his name she spun around and went to get her robe and therefore also getting away from Lynda where she stood, watching Valerie with wide eyes.

“Tom Riddle taught you how to create a love potion- and not just any love potion- but the most powerful love potion to have ever existed?” Lynda put one hand up to her forehead as if the thought gave her a headache while the other was held up in front of her as if she was trying to stop time.

“Yes, is that so hard to believe?” Valerie sighed, getting sick of her questions and her obvious doubt and dislike for the dark haired boy. She turned around to look at Lynda where she stood by the mirror. “He’s actually not as bad as you think.”

Lynda scoffed, shaking her head as if she could not believe what she was hearing. She started rubbing her temples in circular motions as she was about to start speaking again, but Valerie was not having any of it.

“I need to go now.” Valerie spat, walking towards the door. “Goodbye.”

After Valerie had brushed her teeth in the in the girl’s bathroom she rushed out to go to class. Just as she was walking towards the door she bumped into a girl, making them both fall to the floor. Valerie quickly got to her feet to see that the girl she had bumped into was on her all fours, her hand reaching out to look for her glasses that had fallen off in the crash.

“I am so sorry.” Valerie apologised as she squatted down before the girl and picked up her glasses, giving them to the girl.

“It’s okay.” the girl said in a small, nasally voice, and thanked Valerie before putting on her glasses, looking up at her. The girl was pale in contrast to her dark hair she wore in two pigtails on her head. She fixed her fringe and gave Valerie a weak smile as she began to stand up, Valerie doing so as well.

“You’re new here, aren’t you?” the girl with the pigtails asked, her voice shaky as if she was extremely nervous “I’m Myrtle. Myrtle Warren.”

“I am,” Valerie nodded, shaking Myrtle’s hand. “I’m Valerie Campbell, nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.” Myrtle smiled weakly.

“Well, I need to rush to class. I am so truly sorry for crashing into you like that.” Valerie said, getting ready to leave.

“It’s okay. It’s nice to know not all Slytherins are evil.” Myrtle said, her voice still uncertain and weak, making Valerie look down to realise that Myrtle was a Ravenclaw judging by the blue and bronze colour of her tie.

Valerie chuckled a bit before waving goodbye to Myrtle and rushing down the corridors to the dungeon. Just as she took the last step of the stairs down to the dungeon she bumped into someone once again, only this time it only made her stumble back a bit while the person before her barely moved.

“Oh, come on.” Valerie said under her breath as she bumped into the back of the person. The person she bumped into turned around, and looked down at her with a smug smirk.

“Hello to you too, Valerie.” Tom said, his grey eyes glowing with amusement in the dark dungeon.

“I’m sorry, Tom.” Valerie sighed, pushing some hair away from her face and tucking it behind her ear.

“It’s okay.” Tom said, and licked his lips as he looked at her from top to toe. “Nice to know you’re so keen on touching me.”

Valerie rolled her eyes and shook her head, but felt how her cheeks heated up by his comment. She hoped that it was not visible in the weak light of the dungeon.

“Oh, just clog it, Riddle.” she chuckled. “Are you nervous?” she asked him, trying to change the subject.

“No, not really.” Tom shook his head, his smirk still playing on his lips. “Are you?” he cocked an eyebrow at her in that way only he could.

“A little.” lied Valerie. Her nervosity was still skyrocketing by the second, but she did not want Tom to know how anxious she could get, for she was afraid he would think she was weak. Although she tried to convince herself that she did not care what Riddle thought of her.

“You will be fine, Valerie.” Tom tried to convince her, reaching out to touch her shoulder. Valerie followed his gesture with her eyes to see how he stopped his movements just as his hand was about to rest on her shoulder, seeing it drop down and retreat to his side again. Valerie did not know why he had done that, and for a moment she got very anxious, thinking there was something wrong with her, but Tom forced her out of those thoughts when he spoke.

“Do you want to go through it with me?” he asked, putting both of his hands in the pockets of his robe and looking directly into her eyes.

“Sure.” Valerie said, nodding. Tom rose his eyebrows as a mark for her to begin explaining it to him.

“What you need to make the potion is moonstone- powdered, of course- peppermint, ashwinder eggs- uh-  pearl dust, rose petals-” Valerie began rambling the ingredients, but Tom stopped her.

“It’s actually rose thorns, not rose petals.” he said, chuckling lightly as a half-smile spread across his lips.

“Oh, right.” Valerie said, shaking her head at her own silliness.

“Continue.” Tom encouraged her, giving her a nod of approval. But just as Valerie was about to continue the class was about to start. They both walked into the classroom, and before Tom went to the table in his usual spot in the far back he leaned down to the side, whispering into Valerie’s ear:

“I know you can do this.”

He then went to his table, leaving Valerie stunned for a while as his scent and that hint of peppermint lingered on around her like a mist. Her stomach was churning, and her heart pounding as he had been so close to her that she had felt his breath brush against her cheek. The sound of his velvet voice echoed inside of her head as she went with trembling legs to stand at her usual spot, trying to convince herself by mumbling to herself under her breath:

“I can do this, I can do this.”


	9. Phantom Hand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really like this chapter. I am not too pleased with it. I am sorry.

“Tom.” he heard his name be called just as he was about to leave for his next class. Tom turned around to see professor Slughorn stand by the table in the front of the classroom, his hands behind his back.

“Yes, professor?” asked Tom, slowly walking up to Slughorn where he stood, making sure to put on his most innocent, pristine face. He saw that Valerie was still stood by her cauldron, packing up the last of the things she had brought with her. Once she heard his voice she turned her head to look at him, giving him a weak smile as their eyes met for a split second.

“I’m afraid I wasn’t too pleased with your potion today.” Slughorn sighed, shaking his head. “Is there something wrong?”

Tom shook his head, shrugging his shoulders.

“No, sir.” he said, blinking innocently while he kept his facial expression calm and neutral. “I thought that the Invigoration Draught was perfectly okay to brew. It is advanced for a fifth year, after all. Or am I wrong, professor?”

Slughorn opened his mouth to say something, but let out a sigh instead as he took a few steps to the other side to the classroom, Tom following his movements with his gaze.

“You are of course correct, Tom. Invigoration Draught is advanced enough indeed, but-” Slughorn stopped, looking back at Tom again with tired eyes. “I was expecting more from you, that is all. You know that you are my brightest student, and I was expecting you to do something more like-” Slughorn trailed, trying to find something to it compare with. He let out a hum in approval as he saw Valerie standing by her cauldron, sneaking glances over where the conversation was happening before her.

“I was thinking of something more like what miss Campbell did.” Slughorn explained, giving Valerie a pat on the back. “You see, miss Campbell managed to brew the most excellent Amortentia. I must admit I was impressed.” Slughorn chuckled.

Tom looked at Valerie, seeing how she was looking at him from behind her hair that had fallen in front of her face. She chuckled softly and thanked Slughorn, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. Tom gave her a small smirk, seeing how her cheeks had turned scarlet once again.

“Is that so.” said Tom.

“Yes, indeed.” Slughorn nodded, chuckling triumphantly before walking back to the board behind the table. “Now off you go, I don’t want you to be late for your next class.”

Valerie began walking towards the stairs, Tom following her with his hands behind his back. As they were walking up the stairs Valerie suddenly turned around, making Tom almost ram into her.

“Thank you, Tom.” Valerie said, looking down at him where he stood a few steps down. “I know how much you value your grades, and if I would’ve known that you were planning to create Amortentia I wouldn’t have taken it from you.”

Tom shot her a half-smile, looking at her where she stood. Her golden hair was messy, her tie wonky, yet with the light coming from one of the torches on the wall behind her, it created an aura around her that made it appear as if she were glistening.

“Slughorn will forgive me.” he then said, nodding slightly. He felt his lips curve into a smirk, knowing that he would not suffer that greatly from what he had done- or rather- had not done.

Valerie sighed, and placed a hand on his shoulder, looking deeply into his eyes.

“No,” she said. “I really mean it, Tom. Thank you.”

Tom felt how his body got stiff, feeling the warmth of her hand through the fabric of his clothes, and her eyes staring deeply into his. For the first time he felt like he was not in control, rather the opposite. There was something about the way her touch felt, the way she looked at him in a way he could not remember anyone else had ever done, and the way that one single torch on the wall casted a warm light into the otherwise dark stairway.

“My pleasure.” Tom said quietly, but his words were sincere.

Valerie smiled at him, her gaze flickering to where her hand was resting. As she did so her smile faded, and she quickly pulled her hand away from Tom’s shoulder to wrap it around her books instead.

“I’ll see you later.” said Valerie before rushing up the stairs, away from Tom where he stood, frozen. He stood still for a while before shaking off the feelings that had erupted inside of him, and headed up towards his next class.

Before Tom entered the classroom he took a deep breath, knowing that Valerie was probably already in there. With his head up high he entered, sitting down at his usual spot in the far back, seeing those blonde locks in the front. He swallowed hard, feeling how his throat had gone dry.

“Welcome, class.” professor Merrythought’s voice echoed through the classroom, making Tom tear his gaze away from the girl in the front. Tom tried to focus on what professor Merrythought was teaching, but his gaze kept wandering to look at Valerie, and the feeling of the warmth from her touch lingered on his shoulder, as if the ghost of her hand was still there.

Tom felt weird, like he was going to be sick. A feeling of nausea and pain erupted inside of him, growing larger everytime he looked into Valerie’s direction. It felt as if he was being smothered, like two hands were squeezing his lungs from all oxygen. His head was spinning, a throbbing headache exploding.

The feelings continued to bother him throughout the whole class, making it impossible for Tom to even recall what had happened. All he remembered was how he had rushed out of the classroom as soon as they had gotten dismissed.

He rushed into the Prefect’s bathroom to get some privacy. Tom stumbled to the sink and splashed his face with water, the cooling liquid calming him down somewhat, but his headache remained, feeling like his head was going to explode at any second. Tom was panting, trying to catch his breath. His hands gripped the sides of the sink, his knuckles turning white from the strength he used to grip the cold material.

Tom looked up into the mirror in front of him, seeing how droplets of water rolled down his face. He looked at himself, seeing how much of a mess he was. His otherwise perfectly styled hair had fallen down to cover his forehead, his temple had a prominent vein popping out, as well as on his neck. His eyes were darker than usual, bags already forming underneath them.

Tom inhaled sharply, standing up straight to try and get himself together. The feeling of being strangled did not seem to go away. He loosened his tie in attempt to make it easier for him to breathe, unbuttoning the first two buttons on his shirt as well.

“What is happening to you?” he asked himself in a low, scolding voice, staring at the reflection in the mirror. He did not recognise that type of behaviour, those types of feelings. Tom had begun to cold sweat, making him feel more uncomfortable and distraught than before. This was all her fault. If she had not touched him, talked to him, looked at him, or even showed up late to class that day none of what was happening would have happened in the first place.

Tom stood for an unknown amount of time in the Prefect’s bathroom, trying to get himself together. When he finally was able to control his breathing, and the cold sweat had vanished, he buttoned up his shirt again, straightened his tie, and fixed his hair with the help of a charm before proceeding to go to the Great Hall for lunch. Perhaps being around his “friends” would take his mind off of Valerie, even though the feeling of her hand was still lingering on his shoulder, burning just as hot as it did when she was touching him.


	10. Dull

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!
> 
> We have finally come to the chapter where this story starts to pick up. I hope you like it! :)

“No, I don’t get it.” Brian stated, shaking his head. “I don’t believe it.”

Valerie sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Tom taught me how to make Amortentia and told me to make it for the exam, claiming it would impress Slughorn- which it did. Tom made Invigoration Draught- which Slughorn was not impressed with at all. He even told Tom that he was unimpressed and dissapointed with him.” Valerie explained once again, her eyes wandering inbetween her two friends who stared at her in disbelief.

“So?” said Lynda, furrowing her eyebrows. “What’s your point?”

“My point is that Tom is actually not as bad as you guys make him to be. He let me take what he had planned to do for the exam so that I could get a higher grade, and impress Slughorn.” Valerie sighed once again, getting sick of her friends’ bad attitude towards Tom. “We all know that Tom values his grades highly, so why would he intentionally give away what he knew would impress Slughorn and instead create something that he had told me Slughorn would not think was impressive if he was as bad as you guys think he is?”

“Impressed here, impressed there, Tom is still a suspicious bloke and there is nothing you can do or say to make me change my mind.” Brian crossed his arms over his chest, shooting Valerie a look of disgust.

“Lynda?” asked Valerie, turning to look at her purple-haired friend, hoping she would understand and perhaps even start liking the boy Valerie had begun to grow fond of.

“I don’t know, Val.” Lynda shook her head. “You haven’t grown up with Riddle like we have. He has been odd since we were children, and has never shown any sort of emotions- nor has he ever done anything that would favour anyone else but himself. He has excellent grades, sure, and he is very polite and gentleman-like. But, Valerie, never have Riddle  _ ever _ been friendly or shown actual liking for another human being. He’s always been like a brick wall.”

Valerie felt how her heart dropped, neither of her friends seeming to believe that Tom would do something good without it favouring him. She looked down at her hands that were resting on the table, and started to spin her ring around her finger.

“Whatever, just forget it.” Valerie murmured, feeling dissapointed, and perhaps even angry, over the fact that her friends showed so much disgust and resentment for Tom.

* * *

 

When Valerie was done with all of her classes for the day she went to look for Tom. She felt that she needed to thank him properly for what he had done for her in Potions Class. Valerie found him in the Common Room, sitting in one of the black leather chairs, reading a book.

“Hi, Tom.” she said, standing in front of the armchair, looking down at the handsome boy.

Tom’s head shot up, his eyes flashing wide for a split second before they turned dull, ever so different from the way he usually looked at her.

“Hello.” he said shortly before turning back to his book. Valerie was a bit taken aback by his sudden lack of personality, but decided to ignore it thinking he was just caught up in the book he held in his hands.

“What are you reading?” asked Valerie, tilting her head to the side to get a better glimpse of the book.

Tom let out a sigh, pursing his lips before tearing his gaze away from the book to look up at Valerie.

“Can I help you with something, Campbell?” his stare was different from before. Cold, and tedious, as if he was looking right through her. Valerie stuttered a bit on her words, not being used to the dull voice and stare, and how Tom referred to her by her surname. Never had he done that before.

“I-” she began, but lost her trail, her mind flooding with questions about what was going on with him. “I just wanted to thank you for helping me earlier today.”

Tom looked at her, his expression remaining dull and emotionless.

“You already did that.”

“Yeah, but I- I felt I needed to do it again.” said Valerie, still baffled. “Thank you.”

Tom nodded slightly before turning to look down into his book again.

“You’re welcome.”

Valerie stood still, running the conversation with Tom over in her head, trying to remember if she had done anything that could have angered him, or made him upset with her. But she could not seem to remember anything as they had not talked since earlier that very same morning in the dungeon.

“Have I done something to anger you, Tom?” she heard herself say, her words slipping out of her mouth before she could manage to stop them. She soon regretted it as she saw Tom inhale sharply before looking up to meet her gaze again, his eyes were still dull but she thought she could see them flicker with anger for a split second.

“Not at all.” he said, raising his eyebrows in an innocent way, his adam’s apple bobbing slightly. “Why?”

Valerie felt a sense of irritation build up inside of her, blending in with the confusion she felt towards the boy in front of her. Tom was acting like she was just another Hogwarts student, like everything that had happened since they first talked in the library that night was nothing but in her imagination. Tom was looking and talking to her like he did when he spoke with the professors and with the headmaster.

“You-” Valerie began, but stopped herself, not quite knowing what to say. Tom continued to look at her with the same expression pasted onto his face, waiting for her to finish. “You are different.” Valerie finally managed to say, her heart racing slightly in her chest as she waited for Tom to react.

“How come?” asked Tom, his voice showing nothing of emotion or actual interest for what Valerie had to say. He turned back to look down into his book, not bothering to wait for Valerie to answer.

“Why are you doing this, Tom?” Valerie asked, her voice starting to shake. “Have I done something wrong?”

“No.” he responded in a low voice, not looking up at her.

“Then why are you acting this way?” Valerie continued, starting to feel a lump form in her stomach.

Tom was quiet for a long while, making the lump in Valerie’s stomach grow even larger, aching inside of her abdomen. He finally looked up at her, still wearing that mask.

“What do you mean?” asked Tom, his eyes wearily wandering over her face.

“You-” Valerie’s voice faded. She took a deep breath before trying to speak again. “You’re cold.”

Tom looked at her before shrugging his shoulders, closing the book in his lap.

“I’m afraid I can’t help you, Campbell.” he said, standing up. “You must’ve gotten confused.”

Tom looked at Valerie’s face for a while before walking past her. It looked as if he resented her, walking past her like he did not want to be in her presence. Valerie was not pleased with the answer she had gotten, nor was she done talking to him. She reached out and grabbed him by the upper arm, stopping him in his tracks.

“Don’t walk away from me, Tom.” she said, her voice breaking ever so slightly as there were so many different emotions running in her system.

Tom stood still, leaving Valerie to stare at his backside.

“Let go of me.” he murmured, his voice sounding dark, darker than it usually was. His voice was calm, but Valerie could hear the anger in it. Valerie did as she was told, and let her hand slide from his arm to connect with her other hand in front of her. She began to fiddle with the ring around her finger, feeling how anxiety began to rise inside of her.

“I don’t understand what’s going on, Tom.” Valerie admitted, shaking her head while looking at the back of Tom’s head. She heard how Tom let out a deep sigh, his shoulders rising and sinking in sync with his breathing. He slowly turned around, his face emotionless.

“What do you want from me, Campbell?” he asked, his voice once again returning to that dull one. He rose his eyebrows questioningly, but his face was just as stone cold.

“I just want to know why you are acting this way.” Valerie explained, starting to chew on her bottom lip to keep herself stable.

“Do you reckon I should be acting differently?” asked Tom, looking straight at her. Valerie felt as if it was a rhetorical question, and did not know what to answer- if she was even going to answer him at all.

“This isn’t you, Tom.” she said, her voice breaking down into a whisper. She shook her head, looking straight into his eyes to try and connect with him from behind his mask.

“You don’t know me.” he answered coldly before turning around again and heading for the exit.

“Then let me  _ get _ to know you!” Valerie exclaimed, feeling she was out of any other option. She did not want him to leave her like this; confused and upset.

Tom stopped in front of the entrance, and slowly spun around to look at Valerie, this time his facial expression had changed. His eyebrows were furrowed, creating a slight crease over his forehead, his eyes seemed to had turned darker, and his stare showed something Valerie could only describe as resentment.

“I don’t need you, Campbell.” he said, trying his best to keep his voice calm but Valerie could detect the spewing anger in it, even if it was burried deep underneath. “What makes you think I would ever let you get to know me?”

Valerie began to feel her eyes water, feeling deeply hurt by his words. She felt relief that they were alone in the Common Room, but at the same time she wished there were some witnesses there, knowing Tom would not let his facade break in front of other students.

“I thought we were friends.” she managed to say, her voice trembling.

Tom shook his head, turning around to walk out of the Common Room.

“I don’t need your friendship.” he snarled before disappearing.


	11. Nothing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Friday 13th today! :O
> 
> Has anything bad happened to you today? Personally I had an awful experience during lunch. I found a traces of ham in my bagel.... I'm vegan. I am convinced it was because of this date, 100%.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I really want to thank you and show my appreciation for you. I can't believe you've actually spent time reading this little thing of mine. It really warms my heart, so thank you! :)

_ "I thought we were friends." _

Her voice echoed inside of Tom’s head, her words playing on a continuous loop. Tom walked with decisive steps towards the Great Lake. They were not friends, Tom thought. He only thought she was intriguing because she was special. Tom did not need friends, only people who could help him get what he wanted. She was nothing like that.

Tom reached the lake, inhaling deeply to fill his nostrils with the salty scent of the water. It was quite chilly outside, for it was November already, but Tom did not mind. The cold breeze tickled his cheeks, sneaking inside of his robe to slide its fingers across his back, arms and chest. Small white puffs escaped Tom’s nose as he exhaled, evaporating as it rose towards the grey, cloudy sky above him.

Valerie could not help him get what he wanted, he thought. She would get in the way for she was too pure to understand power in that sense. Nor was she scared of him, like all his other peers he had let in. She was not like Lestrange, not like Avery or Malfoy, or anyone else for that matter.

Tom had believed it was something positive, that she was not a regular, ordinary human like most other people. He had now come to realise that he had been wrong all along. She was actually dangerous to him, and he needed to get away from her at all costs.

She had not reacted particularly well when he had broken that bond that had begun to form between them. He had snapped it in half, without any further notice, which Tom could see had shocked her, but it was for the best. He would not let her control him, persuade him, and change him. He was the one who did that, and not the other way around.

Tom picked up a stone from the ground. He held it in the palm of his hand, grazing the coarse surface with his thumb. He let out a sigh, squeezing the solid material before turning to look at the lake again. He looked out the dark water, seeing how it peacefully stared back at him. He pursed his lips and threw the stone out the lake. It bounced on the surface four times before sinking to the bottom. Never to be seen again.

Yet another breeze blew past Tom, gripping his robe with it as it passed. Tom shivered and pulled his robe tighter around his body, starting to wonder how long he had been standing out there by the lake. He looked up at the sky, seeing the thick clouds slowly make their way across the earth’s atmosphere, blocking out the light from the sun that was hinting behind them.

Tom let out a deep sigh, realising that he had to get back inside again. With slow steps he began to walk towards the Slytherin Common Room, hoping that Valerie would have left, for he did not want to encounter her again.

To Tom’s relief the Common Room was empty, except for Lestrange and Malfoy who sat on opposite sides from eachother in the sofas by the fireplace. When Tom entered the room Lestrange looked up to meet his gaze, the smile on his face fading, causing Malfoy turn around to do the same.

“Lestrange, Malfoy.” Tom greeted with a slight nod. None of the boys said anything, instead they both greeted their leader with a nod. Tom walked to sit down next to Lestrange, clasping his hands together to rest in his lap as he looked at the two silent boys.

“Anything new?” he asked, his voice low and lacking any emotion. His eyes wandered between the two, expecting an answer from one of them. Lestrange and Malfoy exchanged a glance before Malfoy cleared his throat. Tom turned to look at him, watching as he opened his mouth to say something, but he quickly shut it again, and gave Lestrange another quick glance before meeting Tom’s stern gaze. Malfoy shook his head, and Tom could see his adam’s apple bob as he was swallowing, probably feeling intimidated by his leader.

Tom let out a frustrated sigh, and nodded before standing up from the sofa again.

“Fine.” he stated. “I will see you at supper.” and with that being said he walked up to the dormitory, feeling how Lestrange and Malfoy followed him with their gazes as he walked away from them. Once Tom got to his bed he opened his chest to retrieve his diary. The familiar scent of the leather filled his nostrils, hitting him with a sense of serenity.

Tom went to sit down by one of the windows. He propped up one of the green velvet cushions against the wall, and leaned his back against it, positioning himself with crossed legs. He opened the diary and ran his fingers over the parchment, not really knowing where to begin. Tom looked out the window, seeing shadows of some of the mysterious creatures swimming around in the dark water of the lake. He put his hand in the pocket of his robe and took out a peppermint pastille, unwrapping it before putting it in his mouth. Tom let out a sigh, turning back to look at his diary. He dipped his quill in some ink before starting to write, seeing the ink disappear into the book as he wrote the words.

* * *

 

It was now time for supper, and Tom went to the prefect’s bathroom to freshen up. He walked up to one of the sinks and began to examine his face in the mirror. His eyes looked weary, slight dark circles had formed underneath them. His hair was not as perfectly styled as usual, a few strands resting on his forehead. Tom shook his head in disapproval, and began to comb his hair to its usual, neat style. He straightened his green and silver tie, and used a charm to make his face look less fatigue.

Tom let out a small sigh before he decided to walk towards the Great Hall, knowing that he would see that blonde girl sitting with her two friends. He had not seen her since their encounter in the Common  Room earlier that day, and Tom was not sure he was ready to see her again. He did not want her to confront him once again as he was not too sure he could keep his facade up.

Once Tom entered the Great Hall he immediately spotted Valerie by the table, sitting with her two friends. Her golden hair was slightly messy as usual, hanging down to cover parts of her face. She was listening to something Greengrass was saying, her eyes locked at him as she nodded slightly from time to time. Tom tore his gaze away from her and walked to sit down next to Avery where he was with the rest of his “friends”.

“Evening.” Tom greeted them quietly, looking at all of them before turning to look at everyone sitting in the hall. The room was already crowded with people from all houses, the professors sitting in their usual spots by the front. His eyes locked with Slughorn’s where he was sat next to professor Beery and Dumbledore. Slughorn rose his glass, and nodded towards Tom, a smile creeping up on his face. Tom nodded in response, flashing Slughorn a smile so fake Tom was surprise Slughorn actually did not see through it.

Once the food was in front of them everyone stared to dig in. Everyone except Tom. He was not hungry for some reason, and he would much rather be doing things that were more productive than sit in the Great Hall full with people he did not care for. The only thing stopping him from actually standing up and leaving was Dumbledore who always seemed to follow Tom’s every step. Tom knew that he could not risk leaving in the middle of supper, so instead he sat there watching everyone as they stuffed their mouths full of food.

Tom’s eyes wandered over to the place where Valerie was sat. She was holding a fork in her hand, pushing around the potatoes on her plate, but did not make the effort to put one into her mouth. Tom noticed that she seemed to be lost in thoughts, her head resting in the palm of her hand as her gaze was locked at the plate before her.

Tom wondered what she was thinking about. What was going on inside that peculiar mind of hers. Was she thinking about classes? Books? Her friends? Her family? Perhaps she was even thinking of him? Tom shook his head, forcing the train of thoughts away from his mind. Why would he care what she was thinking about. He had nothing to do with her, and she had nothing to do with him. They were simply two students who happened to be in the same house. She was a nobody, and she meant absolutely nothing to him.


	12. Used

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I am sorry that I am uploading this late, I was having friends over last night and couldn't leave them to go upload this, haha. Hopefully you understand. I am sorry.
> 
> Anyways, I am uploading this now, and I hope you enjoy it! :)

Valerie was still torn after her encounter with Tom in the Common Room earlier that day. Tom had disappeared faster than Valerie would have been able to say ‘Quidditch’, and he was not seen for the rest of the day. Valerie did not spot him until supper where he had entered the hall looking rather exhausted. He was still very handsome, indeed, his wavy hair styled in that perfect way, his tie as straight as a ruler, yet with his chiselled facial features he looked different. Something was off, but Valerie could not quite put her finger on what.

She had felt him glance over at her a few times during supper, although his gaze did not linger for long, nor did it have that same burning flame to it. It was as if he had been looking at her like she nothing more than a piece of parchment from class. Valerie had tried to ignore her thoughts that kept penetrating her mind, but they all seemed to come back as soon as she had ushered them away. What had she done that could possibly make Tom push her away? Had she said or done anything to upset him? She could not remember, and it was something that bothered her immeasurably.

During supper she had managed to keep her train of thoughts in the distance as she was sitting with her two friends. Brian was extremely excited over the upcoming Quidditch match that was supposed to take place over the weekend, and he was constantly going on about how they were going to clobber Gryffindor as they were their arch-rivals.

“Val,” Brian exclaimed as he realised she had stopped listening to his proud rambling. Valerie looked up from her plate to meet his amber coloured orbs that were glistening with excitement. “You have to come.”

“Okay.” Valerie nodded before looking down at her plate again, not really caring for what Brian had to say. What she was supposed to do over the weekend was not something that had crossed her mind as she was too bothered by what was going on in the now, and in the past.

“No, listen to me.” Brian reached over the table to grab her forearm, shaking it slightly to get her attention again. “Guess who’s going to be there?”

Valerie swallowed hard, her first thought being of Tom. She slowly looked up to meet Brian’s gaze again, realising that it was not the person Brian was thinking about as she could read his face. He was wearing a bright cheesy grin, his eyebrows wiggling as he looked at Valerie.

“Who?” said Valerie, although she could not care less about who it was, or was not.

“Jonathan.”

Lynda, who had been quiet throughout most of supper as Brian was speaking non-stop, finally found a gap to slide in.

“You have to come.” she agreed, nodding her head. “It will be great. You need to get out and socialise, and it would really show that you are interested in Jonathan.”

“But I’m  _ not _ interested in Jonathan!” Valerie exclaimed, getting a bit upset by her friends pushing her. “I don’t know who he is, and I do not want to belong to someone. I am fine on my own.”

“You will  _ get  _ to know him, Val.” Lynda said, being her stubborn self and not giving up. “And besides, the Yule Ball is coming up, and you can’t go without a date.”

“Unless you’d rather want to go with Riddle, of course.” Brian butted in, his facial expression drastically changing from excitement to resentment.

Valerie felt her heart sink in her chest at the sound of his name, and looked down at her plate once again, knowing that Tom would do absolutely anything to avoid going with her to prom. It was not the fact that Tom would not want to go to prom with her that made her feel so sombre, but the thought that Tom would rather give up his education at Hogwarts than to be near Valerie again.

“Woah, what’s the matter?” Brian’s choice of tone changed to a more soft spoken one once he saw how Valerie reacted. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” Valerie looked up to flash Brian a small smile, although it was very forced. “Just tired, that’s all.”

Valerie could tell that Brian did not believe her lie, but that he decided not to question her further. He nodded understandingly, and went on to talk about how he was going to crush the Gryffindor team and claim the crown once again, like they apparently had done the year before as well. Valerie was not that invested in the conversation between Brian and Lynda about the Quidditch game, as she was too caught up in her own thoughts.

* * *

 

As Valerie went to Slytherin girl’s Dormitory later that night after she had brushed her teeth in the bathroom, she was approached by Lynda. Valerie was sitting on her bed, combing through her blonde mess of hair when Lynda positioned herself in front of Valerie’s bed, her hands on her hips in a stern manner.

“Valerie.” she said, her voice matching the serious manner of her facial expression and position. Lynda kept her eyes straight at Valerie, the emerald green colour of them seeming more intense and darker than ever before, making Valerie feel slightly uncomfortable and anxious.

“Yes?” asked Valerie, her voice meek and unsure as she began to wonder if she had done anything wrong.

“What happened during supper?” her voice and stare told Valerie that Lynda was in her most stubborn mood, and would not let Valerie get away with what happened, but she made an attempt anyways.

“What do you mean?” Valerie asked, tilting her head slightly to the side and shooting Lynda her most convincing confused look. “We talked about Quidditch, did we not?”

Lynda rolled her eyes, obviously seeing through Valerie’s attempt, and leaned towards one of the bedposts of Valerie’s bed.

“Don’t be thick, Valerie. You know what I am talking about.”

Valerie sighed, and looked around the Dormitory to see if anyone else was in the room that could eavesdrop on their conversation. It seemed as if Lynda had already thought about it as there was no one else in the room, the rest of the girls were probably still in the bathroom to get ready for bed. Valerie turned back to look at Lynda, who shot her a look of; “didn’t you think I had already thought about that?”.

“What do you want to know?” Valerie asked, letting her hands rest in her lap along with her silver hair brush she had had since she was a little child.

“I want to know what happened. As soon as Brian mentioned Riddle’s name you seemed to turn grey. It was like all the colour was drained from your face and you looked almost dead- both on the inside and the outside.” Lynda pursed her lips, blinking a few times while shaking her head slowly, as if she was recalling the moment with shame.

Valerie was quiet. She did not know what to say since she knew so little about it herself. She felt as if she could not quite explain her feelings for they were too complicated and strange. Everytime Valerie tried to speak she found herself sitting with her mouth hung agape, the words getting stuck on her tongue on their way out.

“I guess Tom and I aren’t really on the right side of the tracks at the moment.” she finally said, shrugging her shoulders. She looked down at her brush which her fingers were busy playing with, running along the small leaf details on the back of it.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lynda scoffed, although it did not seem to be in a condescending or mocking sort of way. She took a step closer towards Valerie and waved with her hand to gesture for Valerie to scoot to the side so she could sit down next to her on the bed.

“I’m not quite sure, actually.” Valerie sighed, letting her friend sit next to her by changing position so that she was sitting with her back against the headboard. She propped her pillow up to make it more comfortable for her spine, sinking into it slowly. “He just started acting strangely after he had helped be with the potion- you know which one I’m talking about.”

Lynda nodded slowly, her eyebrows were furrowed deeply, creating a small crease.

“Go on.”

“Well, I don’t know.” Valerie shrugged. “He has started to treat me like I don’t matter. Like I’m just another student.”

“And aren’t you?”

Valerie looked up at Lynda, her eyes filled with frustration and hurt. How Lynda could even say that to her she could not understand. Could she not see how hurt she already was by the betrayal of Tom?

“Are you serious?” asked Valerie, her voice sharp and aggressive.

Lynda shrugged, seemingly unbothered by Valerie’s attack.

“Did you really think Riddle thought any different of you?” Lynda sighed and rolled her eyes seeing how Valerie was staring at her with blazing fury. “You’re just another game piece. Riddle has a way of making girls pine after him, but he does not care about them at all. It is all for his advantage. That boy has never known friendship- atleast not since he came to Hogwarts.”

Valerie’s expression softened, the fire in her eyes faded and was replaced with water in the shape of tears. She looked away in an attempt to hide it from her friend, but failed as a droplet rolled down her cheek and stained her grey skirt.

“You really think he used me?” Valerie asked, trying to keep her voice steady, but it came out trembling. She began to spin her ring around her finger, her mind clouding with everything that had been going on in her life for the past years.

“I’m sorry, Val.” Lynda mumbled, placing a hand on her knee.

They were both silent for quite some time, the only thing to be heard in the room was the water lapping against the windows, as usual, and the sniffling that came from Valerie from time to time. After a long while Valerie finally stopped crying. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and looked up at Lynda who was still sitting by her side, gently caressing Valerie’s knee in a soothing manner.

“What time’s the Quidditch game?”


	13. Classes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, it's almost Halloween everyone! I'm v excited as this is my favourite holiday!
> 
> Ah, yes, I am aware of the fact that there isn't too much happening in this chapter, but it's important as it shows that they do have normal classes where they don't just sit and do nothing, and also because we need to remember who Tom actually is; a highly intelligent, angsty, little shit.
> 
> Happy Halloween! :)

It was Friday morning, and Tom was on his way to Potions. He was not too keen on it as he knew she would be there, the distraction. Nonetheless he knew he had to be there, not only because he had to keep up his grades but also because he was one of professor Slughorn’s favourite students, and if Tom was not there Slughorn would notice.

“Ah, good morning, Tom.” Slughorn greeted Tom with a smile as he entered the dungeon, seeing that he was the first student to arrive. “I see you’re excited for class today.”

Tom smiled and nodded, putting down his cauldron on the table in the far back.

“Of course, professor.” he stated with a mellow voice. “Aren’t I ever?”

Tom’s comment seemed to flatter Slughorn greatly as he broke out into a bright smile, spreading across his face, a small chuckle escaping his lips.

“Oh, you’re too good to be true, Tom.” Slughorn shook his head and turned around, his smile still plastered onto his face in a way Tom thought looked rather ridiculous. Tom looked down at the table where all of the material was displayed in front of him, trying to mask the smirk that spread across his face.

“ _ If only you knew.” _

Tom heard footsteps approaching, but did not bother to look behind him to see who it was that entered the dungeon, for he did not care. He continued to organise the things he knew would be useful for class, and riffled through the pages of the book, reading about ingredients for advanced potions.

“Good morning, miss Campbell.” he heard Slughorn say in a fruity voice. Tom felt a strike of pain in his chest for a brief moment as he heard the name being called, but still did not bother to look up. He did not even glance in her direction as he heard her chiming voice greet Slughorn with a sweet ‘good morning’.

Tom listened as he heard Valerie walk to the table in the front, setting down her cauldron with a loud clang, followed by a small grunt. Tom pretended to be caught up in the book, but his attention was fully directed on her, listening to what she was doing, but never did he look up at her.

The class went on without any complications. They were supposed to work in pairs of two and create Strengthening Solution, and Tom was working together with Malfoy. As Tom had forbidden himself to even glance into Valerie’s direction he did not know who she was working with, but according to Malfoy she was working together with a Hufflepuff boy named Raymond Fernsby.

Tom shot Malfoy a glare that could kill as he heard him say that Valerie was working together with Fernsby, for he was a muggle-born. Malfoy seemed to get very anxious seeing the face his leader gave him, and started fumbling with the ingredients on the table. Malfoy would have knocked over the jar of salamander blood if Tom would not have reacted as quickly as he did.

“Wingardium Leviosa.” Tom said, flicking his wand that he had managed to draw from the pocket of his robe in a swift movement. The jar stopped mid-air, and soared peacefully as every student in the dungeon turned around to see what was going on. They were all watching as Tom put the jar back onto the table, pretending like nothing had happened. Once everyone saw that nothing else was going to happen they all turned back to continue with their work. Tom took that moment to shoot Malfoy a look of irritation, making Malfoy lower his head in shame, perhaps even fear.

Tom knew that Valerie had turned around when the occurrence had happened, of course she did, everyone else had done it as well. He had felt how her eyes had been on him, but he had not looked back at her. Neither was he going to give in to the urge he had to look over to where she was stood next to the mudblood.

When Slughorn dismissed the class Tom was the first one to leave the dungeon, making sure to get as far away from Valerie as possible. He was not in the mood to get confronted by her, and felt that his facade would falter if he got up face to face with her again. Once he would talk to her again he knew he would not be able to stay away, knowing how addictive her presence was.

Instead Tom rushed to his next class, which happened to be Transfiguration. Transfiguration was not Tom’s favourite class, mostly because of the professor leading the class; Dumbledore. Nonetheless he rushed faster than usual, being so caught up in the thought to get to class as quickly as possible that he did not notice the girl he bumped into until he heard her squeal as she hit the floor.

“My apologies.” Tom mumbled almost incoherently, and helped the girl get to her feet. Once the girl was standing up Tom noticed that it was Myrtle Warren, a third year from Ravenclaw. Warren looked up at Tom, pushing up her glasses on the bridge of her nose, her eyes wandering over Tom’s face, they seemed puffy and red, Tom noted. She had probably been crying, but Tom did not bother to ask her as he did not care.

“It’s alright.” Warren said in a meek voice, her pale face seemingly turning into a light shade of pink as she locked eyes with the fifth year. She let out a nervous giggle- that sounded incredibly annoying in Tom’s ears- before walking past Tom, and away further down the corridor. Tom shook the annoying feeling of the mudblood’s laughter of off him and continued to walk towards class, still hoping he would not encounter the blonde witch he so desperately wanted to avoid.

To Tom’s luck he managed to get to class before Valerie, which was a huge relief for him. He took the seat in the far back, sitting down quietly as he watched Dumbledore stand in the front of the classroom.

“Mr. Riddle,” Dumbledore greeted him. “I see you’re the first one to arrive- alone.” he noted, his tired blue eyes searching the classroom as if to make sure no one had slipped in without being noticed.

“Yes, sir.” Tom nodded, not feeling the need to explain himself.

It did not take long before the whole class was filled with students from all houses, Valerie being one of them. Dumbledore soon started the class by telling everyone that they were going to work on the vanishing spell; Evanesco. Tom sighed quietly as he already knew how to make both animate and inanimate objects disappear, but listened nonetheless as Dumbledore was lecturing about how difficult it was to make things vanish, especially when attempting it on animals.

Dumbledore told the class that they would begin to practice on making snails vanish as they were easier to make disappear because of their small sizes. Tom knew that he could already make snails disappear, and therefore was completely uninterested in the lecture Dumbledore was giving his students before letting them attempt it themselves. He was more interested in the snail that was in front of him on his desk, slowly dragging its body across the desk.

Once Dumbledore was finished with his lecture he gave some instructions before letting everyone try and make the snails vanish. Tom sighed and pulled out his wand from the pocket of his robes, glancing over at Dumbledore where he was walking around the classroom, watching the students as they made some pathetic attempts to make the small animal disappear.

“Evanesco.” Tom said and pointed to the snail with his wand, making it immediately disappear. With a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders Tom leaned back into his seat, placing his wand on the desk in front of him. He watched his fellow classmates, seeing that nobody else managed to get rid of the slimy animal. The failure of the other students made Tom crack into a small smirk, but quickly masked it to make it seem like he did not care at all.

“Oh, miss Campbell!” Dumbledore exclaimed in a orotund voice, “You seemed to have succeeded the task. I must say I am impressed, not many students have had the ability to do so on the first try. Excellent job.”

Tom shot Dumbledore a quick glance, feeling how annoyance began to brew inside of him. Of course Dumbledore had always been suspicious of Tom, and did not favour him as much as his other students. It was not the fact that Dumbledore seemed to applaud Valerie for doing something Tom had already done that annoyed him, but the fact that Dumbledore did not seem to acknowledge that Tom was there at all. Dumbledore did not even do as much as glance into Tom’s direction.

“Thank you, sir.” Tom heard Valerie say, her voice sounding almost as if she was baffled by the fact that she had managed to succeed. The sound of her voice made Tom twitch slightly in his seat, feeling almost uncomfortable at the sound of it.

Not long after that Dumbledore dismissed the class, seeing that no one else was going to manage to make their snails vanish. He told the students that he was going to give them a homework to go and practice the spell, seeing if there would be any improvement in their next class.

Tom was ready to get out of the classroom, trying to rush as fast as possible to avoid the blonde girl, but on his way he dropped his wand that he was holding in his hand along with his other equipment. With a frustrated sigh he bent down and picked it up. As he stood up straight again he bumped his head into something hard. He let out a low grunt and covered the sore spot on the back of his head as he looked up to see what he had bumped into. To his unpleasant surprise he was met with a familiar pair of ocean blue eyes.

“Sorry, Riddle.” Valerie mumbled in a low voice before continuing to walk out of the classroom, and into the corridor, leaving Tom feeling taken aback by what had just happened, and frustrated over his own clumsiness and failed attempt to avoid the venomous witch.


	14. Slow Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I am so sorry for not uploading. I was at a birthday party and didn't get home until late in the evening.
> 
> But here it is. I'm sorry if you don't find it very exciting, but you must have those chapters as well sometimes, yeah? ;)

Valerie was awoken on Saturday morning quite unpleasantly, getting hit in the face with a pillow.

“Wake up, darling.” she heard Lynda exclaim in an exaggerated singsong. “It’s Quidditch day.”

Valerie groaned and crawled further down under the covers, not wanting to get out of the warm cozy bed and out into the cold autumn air. Lynda responded by hitting Valerie with her pillow once again, this time being a bit more serious.

“Get up, you loafer.” she said, although her tone was stern Valerie could tell that she was not completely serious, yet she peeked up from underneath her emerald green duvet.

“I’m not a loafer, thank you very much.” she responded, her voice coming out a bit hoarse, yet rolled of her tongue quite lightly.

“I can tell.” was all Lynda countered with, placing her hand on her hip as the other one was still gripping the white pillow tightly. Valerie squinted up at Lynda, still too tired to open her eyes completely.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me, miss.” Lynda rose her eyebrows and tilted her chin up, looking down at Valerie as if she was her subordinate. Valerie knew Lynda was only being herself, teasing playfully as usual, but she could not help but feel a bit irritated at the words she had called her.

“I am not a loafer.” Valerie repeated once again, throwing her duvet off of her and sitting up straight in the bed. She regretted it in an instance as the comfortable warmth left her, the cold surroundings wrapping her up in an embrace. Valerie felt goosebumps form across her arms through her pyjamas, her arms automatically flying to cover hug herself in an attempt to protect herself from the cold.

“Great, you’re up!” Lynda exclaimed happily, dramatically spinning around and walking over to her bed across the room, tossing her pillow onto the bed. It landed messily in the middle of the bed, but Lynda did not seem to care about it as she strutted back to Valerie without giving it a second glance.

“Get dressed already! Stop being so lazy!”

“Give me a break, Lynda.” Valerie sighed, rubbing her tired eyes with her hands while throwing her feet over the bed, meeting the cold floor. “I just woke up.”

“Loafer.” Lynda muttered under her breath, clearly have been able to take notice how the words provoked her friend. Valerie groaned loudly, shooting an angry glance in her purple friend’s direction.

“You are so annoying.”

“Thank you.”

* * *

 

It took Valerie half an hour to get ready, with Lynda constantly being on her back nagging about how slow and lazy she was, but now they were both sitting in the Common Room waiting for Brian, who still had not been seen.

“Good thing we were so quick.” Valerie said sarcastically, nodding her head while looking directly at Lynda where she sat in the sofa opposite to her. “Or else Brian would have to sit and wait for us here- oh no, wait.”

Lynda glared at her, the warm light from the fireplace reflecting in her green eyes in a way that made them look like they were actually on fire. Valerie grinned teasingly, finding it satisfying, amusing even, to get back at Lynda for the horrible morning she had put her through.

“Shut up, Valerie.” Lynda snapped, but Valerie could see how a smile was hinting behind the angry mask she was wearing. Valerie laughed slightly, looking into the fireplace while fidgeting with the sleeves of her green knitted jumper she was wearing to show pride for her house. Valerie had originally picked out a white fluffy jumper to make sure she kept warm while she was watching the game, but Lynda had been outraged and scolded her for not wearing their house colours.

Lynda had helped pick out an outfit for Valerie she seemed fit the occasion, and Valerie did not mind it even though she would have felt more comfortable wearing something warmer. Lynda had picked out the green knitted jumper, a black skirt similar to the grey skirt they had for their uniform, and black knee socks. Once Valerie had complained about how she was going to be cold Lynda had thrown her a Slytherin scarf to wear.

Valerie had never looked so Slytherin before, and it felt odd since she did not feel like a Slytherin. She did not feel like she belonged in any of the houses at Hogwarts. Lynda, on the other hand, was so proud of her house, and was wearing a knee-length, deep green dress with short sleeves, a belt in silver around the waist, and a pair of grey stockings. Lynda had even used a charm to put silver highlights in her purple hair. 

Valerie had stared at her for a while before arguing that she had to put on some more clothes as it was November. Lynda had rolled her eyes, mumbling under her breath how it would ruin her outfit, but eventually put on a Slytherin scarf and a black cardigan which she added a Slytherin crest to.

“How slow can one human be?” Lynda sighed, staring into the fire while shaking her head in disapproval, referring to Brian that still had not been seen. Valerie chuckled slightly and shrugged her shoulders, still looking into the fire as well.

As if on queue, they heard footsteps approaching the Common Room from the boys’ Dormitory. Valerie looked up towards the stairs, expecting to see Brian, but that was not who came into the Common Room.

Tom was wearing that mask of his he always wore, dull and expressionless, his hands resting in the pockets of his black coat he was wearing. It struck Valerie that it was probably the first time she had ever seen him wearing anything else than his uniform, and he suited it. He was still not wearing the most casual clothing; a white button-down underneath a grey jumper, matching it with some black trousers. Valerie locked eyes with Tom for a brief second before he looked away, looking at Lynda who had turned around from where she sat so that she could see who was approaching.

“O’Berlin.” Tom greeted politely, nodding slightly towards Lynda, who nodded back while mumbling Tom’s surname. Tom’s grey eyes met Valerie’s blue ones for the second time that day, his eyes just as expressionless as the rest of his face. “Campbell.” he said coldly, giving her a nod.

“Riddle.” Valerie said back, her voice weak, trembling slightly. She was still not used to the treatment she got from him, and that lump in her stomach started churning once again, filling her with anxiety. Tom did not say anything else, and instead continued to walk, disappearing out of the Common Room just as quickly as he had arrived, making Valerie let out a deep breath she did not know she was holding in. Lynda turned back to Valerie, her face strained, but her emerald green eyes were filled with sympathy.

“Are you alright?” she asked quietly, leaning closer to Valerie where she sat in the sofa opposite to her. “Your voice-” she began, but cut herself off, probably not wanting to upset Valerie more.

Valerie nodded, swallowing down the lump in her throat.

“I’m fine.” she stated, although she was still feeling the sting of hurt in her chest. “Does he come to watch the games?”

“Yes, sometimes.” Lynda nodded. “But only when Slytherin’s playing.”

Valerie nodded understandingly, and looked up towards the stairs again as she heard footsteps approaching, once again. This time it was actually Brian who came out, looking happier than usual. He was already wearing his Quidditch robes, coming closer to the girls with arms stretched out wide.

“Good morning, ladies.” he sing songed. “Great day today, eh?”

“It was great before you decided to ruin it by being so bloody slow.” Lynda stated, jumping up from the sofa and turning around to face her friend.

“Rude.” Brian said, his smile dropping as he pretended to look hurt. “I was just making sure I was looking good for my fans.” he added, his gleeful smile appearing once again, a slight twinkle shining in his eyes.

Lynda looked him up and down, putting her hands to her hips and shaking her head.

“I see you have failed.” she teased. “You still look like a rat.”

Brian gasped, pretending to look offended. His amber eyes roamed over Lynda before wandering over to Valerie.

“Do I look like a rat?” he asked, pointing to himself.

“I think you look dashing, dear.” Valerie chuckled.

Brian shot her a satisfied smile before turning back to look at Lynda, showing her his most cocky expression.

“See, Lynda?” he said, tilting his chin up. “Some people actually know how to treat their friends.”

Lynda scoffed, and began to talk up the stairs towards Brian, Valerie following her footsteps.

“Who said we were friends?”

“You did,” Brian claimed as the three of them began to walk towards the Great Hall for breakfast. “Once, in third year. I would never forget that. It was- and still is- the nicest thing you have ever said to me.”

“Consider yourself lucky, then.”


	15. The Edge of the Forest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh, guess who couldn't upload this Friday? Me!
> 
> I wasn't at home, I am sorry, but it's okay bc I am uploading it now!
> 
> I hope you enjoy, although it might not be the most exciting chapter. The story is going to pick up soon again, I promise. :)

It had been easier than expected, looking at her. Tom had felt a bit uncomfortable when he had first seen her sitting in the sofa in the Common Room with her half-blood friend. He knew he could not have turned around and walked away for she would have noticed as she had already been looking at him as he approached.

Tom had seen her facial expression twitch slightly as he referred to her by her surname, but she had done the same to him. Her voice had been shaky, almost as she was on the verge of having some sort of breakdown. Tom was relieved over the fact that she did not have one for he would not know how to handle such powerful emotions directed towards him. It would have been hard to pretend to care when there were so much feelings erupting from her.

Tom walked to the Great Hall to eat some quick breakfast, meeting Malfoy in the entrance.

“Good morning- uh.” Malfoy trailed on his words, his gaze roaming over Tom’s stern emotionless face as if he was trying to read him. Tom pursed his lips slightly, raising his eyebrows while waiting for Malfoy to finish his sentence, hoping- for Malfoy’s sake- that he would finish it the way Tom wanted him to. “my Lord.” he finished with a low voice, bowing his head slightly.

Tom suppressed the smug smile that wanted to stretch across his face, not wanting to show himself too pleased with the authority and power he had over his inferiors. Instead he looked away from Malfoy and into the hall, letting his eyes wander over all of the student who were already sitting by their respective tables.

“Going to the game today?” Tom asked, not bothering to look back at the blond boy. He heard how Malfoy was hesitant to answer him, inhaling but then exhaling again as a few muttering sounds escaped him.

“I suppose not.” he managed to say after a while, his voice somewhat collected, but Tom could tell that he was unsure of his own answer. “It is a waste of time, don’t you think, my Lord?” he added, in a pathetic attempt to relate to Tom and his way of thinking.

“I quite enjoy the games, actually.” Tom said, turning back to look at the boy next to him. He connected his hands behind his back and pushed his chin up slightly to mark his dominance. Malfoy nodded understandingly and let his gaze slip away from Tom’s, as if Tom’s gaze was burning him like the hottest of fires. “Care to join me- if you haven’t got anything more important in mind?”

Malfoy snapped back to look at Tom, his eyes roaming over his face in the same way as before; as if he was trying to read him. There was a hint of uncertainty in his eyes, his mouth hanging slightly agape in a way Tom found to look quite pathetic. Tom’s offer- that had been more of a demand- hung in the air for a while before Malfoy finally caught on, clearing his throat before answering:

“Yes, my lord.” he said, a faint smile creeping up upon his lips. “It would be my pleasure.”

Tom nodded courteously, although he had zero respect for the boy beside him.

“I suppose I will see you later then.” he said. “12 o’clock.”

“Yes, my Lord.” he heard Malfoy say, but Tom was already walking away from him to sit down by the Slytherin table. He sat down a few feet away from a group of four girls, first years. Tom felt how their eyes were locked at him as he sat down, but did not bother to react. He was used to people- often girls- looking at him.

Tom prefered to eat breakfast by himself, often feeling too tired to be around people and try to pretend to be interested in all sorts of pointless gibberish they would talk about. Today was no different, and that was why Tom got annoyed when he felt someone bump down next to him just as he was taking a sip of his juice, making his whole body shake and therefore spilling his juice all over himself.

“Riddle.” he heard the cocky voice of Jonathan Wilson say. “Coming to see the game today, eh?”

Tom sat down his glass of juice on the table with a clunk, turning to look at the tall brunette sitting next to him, seeing how he was smiling at him with something Tom would describe as mockery. Tom did not like this bloke at all; loud, proud, and just plain annoying. The type of person who just makes it so obvious that they do not care for anyone else but themselves. Tom could see similarities between himself and Wilson, both used other people’s blunt oblivity and feelings to get what they wanted, and where the wanted. The only difference was that Tom was not stupid enough to show that he did not care, and he was not an arrogant cow. Atleast not so that people noticed.

“In fact, I am.” Tom sighed, swallowing the irritation that began to build up inside of him. He wiped away the remaining juice from his face with the sleeve of his coat and gave Wilson a faint smile, solely out of courtesy.

“Brilliant!” Wilson exclaimed, giving Tom a firm pat on the back as he stood up from the table. Tom had to bite the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from cursing the boy who was shoving him forward with his hard patting.

“Right,” Wilson added, spinning around to look at Tom again, having drawn out his slim wand. “Sorry about your juice, Riddle.” he said with a smile, waving his wand to cast a charm that cleaned Tom up, making his clothes just as dry as before. Tom did not have the time to thank Wilson before he strutted away- not that he had planned on doing so.

_ “Preposterous half-blood.” _ Tom thought to himself, sighing deeply as he smoothed out his clothes.

* * *

 

After Tom was done eating his breakfast he went outside to get some time alone before meeting Malfoy for the Quidditch game. Tom walked to the edge of the forest, sitting down on a rock as he looked at his surroundings. He made sure no one was around before he pulled out some parchment from one of his pockets on the inside of his coat. Tom smoothed out the slightly brown material in his lap before reaching into his pocket once again and pulling out a simple pencil. He looked at the small piece of wood and rolled it inbetween his index finger and thumb, thinking of how odd it felt to hold a pencil instead of the usual quill they used in class.

Tom shook his head, realising how silly it was for him to delve into the differences between quills and the simple pencils used in the muggle world. With a small sigh escaping his lips he began to look at the forest around him, looking for an objective. He settled for the tall pine trees spreading out across the grounds, the Great Lake peeking out from behind them in the faint autumn day sunlight. The graphite smoothly spread across the parchment, allowing Tom to try and recreate the beautiful scenery of the Hogwarts grounds.

Sketching was something Tom had done from a very young age, although it was something he did not want to admit. It was a way for him to calm down, disconnect from the world, which was something he needed to do quite often while residing at Wool’s Orphanage. Although he was living under better circumstances at Hogwarts it was still something Tom liked to do, a habit he had grown quite fond of.

When Tom had first arrived at Hogwarts he had tried to adapt to the wizarding world in all sorts of ways, but using a quill to sketch with was not the same as using a simple muggle pencil. Using ink did not give the same depth to the picture and did not allow him to get all the different shades, not to mention how messy it got. Bringing ink out in the pockets of his robes always ended in a mess, and so did the sketches he tried to draw. Therefore Tom had decided to continue using a pencil, to get the best result as possible.

Tom sat there, on the mossy rock, and looked out the forest, letting himself go into his own little world of sketching the ever so astonishing scenery. Tom could never get over how beautiful he thought Hogwarts was, although it was something he would never admit, being the emotionally detached boy he was. 


	16. Quidditch Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I actually uploaded on time today. I am impressed.
> 
> Enjoy this slightly boring (?) chapter. It will get spicy after this, hehe. You have that to look forward to.

Valerie’s first ever Quidditch game. It was safe to say that she felt both excited and nervous. Brian had been going on and on about how dangerous the game was, and how players had disappeared during games, and even been killed. She let Lynda escort her to their places on the spectator seating where there were already other Slytherins sitting. One little girl turned to look at Lynda, where she had sat down next to her, and immediately wrapped her arms around her waist in a hold that Valerie thought looked suffocating. 

“Lynda!” the little girl exclaimed in a high-pitched voice, her long, ash blonde hair swirling around her small, cherubic face. Lynda looked taken aback at first, but her sceptic facial expression quickly smoothened once she recognised the curly, blonde locks.

“Mabel, hi.” she greeted, placing a hand ontop of the little girl’s head. “Didn’t see you there, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Mabel said, pulling back from her strangling grip, and looking up at Lynda with rosy cheeks and a wide smile. Valerie did not need to stretch her mind very far for her to realise that Mabel was Brian’s little sister. Apart from the obvious height and size difference, and their genders, they looked almost identical.

“Coming to support your big brother, eh?” Lynda asked, which Mabel responded to by nodding her head enthusiastically, making that bouncy hair of hers swirl around her round face. Mabel then turned to look at Valerie who was sitting on the other side of Lynda, watching the wholesome exchange between her friend and the little girl.

“Who are you?” she asked, her amber eyes glowing in that very same tint as her brother, warm and soft like maple syrup.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Valerie apologised, reaching her hand forward to shake Mabel’s small one. “I’m Valerie, Valerie Campbell.”

“She’s a friend of both Brian and I.” Lynda interposed, her gaze flickering between the two.

“How come I’ve never seen you before?” Mabel asked, her eyes narrowing slightly in a wondering sort of way.

“I only just transferred here.” Valerie explained. “I come from another Wizarding school- but other than that I am just the same as everyone else.” she added with a slight chuckle, hoping Mabel was not going to ask more questions about her previous, and current life.

“Oh, okay. That sounds wicked.” was all Mabel said in response, to Valerie’s relief. She shot the little girl a bright smile before turning to look across the grande pitch in front of them. The players had begun to take their starting positions, and the spectator seatings were almost completely filled with enthusiastic people from all houses, mostly Slytherins and Gryffindors, of course.

Valerie turned around to look at all her fellow Slytherin students sitting on the same side as her, seeing how patriotic they all looked with their green and silver clothing. Some of them had even used charms to decorate their faces and hair with snakes and glitter. As Valerie was admiring the fraternity and pride for her house her eyes locked with someone who did not seem as excited as the rest of the Slytherins.

Tom’s eyes looked a pale grey where he was sat next to his friend a few seats away from herself. He was wearing the same clothing he had been wearing when they had met in the Common Room earlier that morning, and his hair looked as perfect as always. Even his little curl was perfectly in place, swirling to the side of his pale forehead and framing his face.

Valerie felt how her heart jolted in her chest as their eyes met, before it sunk into her stomach that was instantly churning as Tom looked at her. She could tell that he swallowed hard, seeing his prominent adam’s apple bob, before he turned to look straight forward towards the pitch, like Valerie was not there. Valerie turned around again, her hands automatically connecting together, and her fingers frantically beginning to twirl her ring around her finger.

“Hey,” Lynda whispered, placing a hand on Valerie’s arm and squeezing it gently. “Are you alright? You look pale.”

“I’m fine.” Valerie stated, nodding her head and giving Lynda a weak smile. Lynda did not seem to be convinced though, her emerald green eyes drilling into Valerie’s ocean blue ones, a dark tint boiling underneath the intense green. “Tom is here.” Valerie admitted with a sigh, nodding subtly towards the place where she knew Tom was sat behind them, a few seats up.

Lynda turned back to look into the direction, and groaned dramatically as she turned back to Valerie again.

“Of course he has to be here to ruin your first Quidditch game. Typical Riddle.” Lynda rolled her eyes, showing that familiar resentment towards the dark haired boy. “And he has brought with him one of his little servants; Malfoy. Go figure.” 

Valerie turned back to look at the boy with the blond hair sitting next to Tom, examining his face and body. She recognised him. She had seen him with Tom before, in the Great Hall at meals and in the corridors. He was looking rather stiff sitting next to Tom, almost as if he was prepared for something disastrous to happen. Tom, on the other hand, looked as calm as always. His chiselled face neutral, his gaze staring straight forward.

* * *

 

During the game Valerie could feel Tom’s eyes on her, although it was not the same as before. It was not the same blazing hot stare that she could feel on her back in class, this felt as cold as ice, sending shivers down her spine. At first she had thought that it was the cold weather that was making her feel chilly, but once she had turned around to see that Tom was staring at her with a look filled with suspicion and resentment she knew that she would not be able to get warm no matter how much she tried. He was the cause for her chills, not the weather.

She tried to ignore the goosebumps that had formed upon her arms and body, and tried to focus on the game instead. It was violent, more violent than she had expected, but Brian did not seem to be scared of getting hurt. Valerie had noticed that the other three Beaters on the pitch were also boys, but they were much more well built than Brian. It looked as if they would be able to break him in half as Brian was as lanky as a toothpick, but Brian did not seem to be bothered by that. And it did not seem to affect his abilities either as he was just as good as the other Beater on the team.

The game ended after a good while, and Slytherin won just as Brian had predicted. The whole Slytherin house had stood up and cheered, lighting up the grey autumn day with their moods. Valerie stood up as well, clapping her hands and smiling widely seeing her fellow Slytherin’s fraternity. Her smile quickly faded once she spotted Tom. He was sitting down, making him stand out from everyone else as they were jumping up and down with excitement, and his facial expression was just as dull and emotionless as before the game had started. If not even his house winning their first game of the year made him smile- or even look slightly more alive- then what could?

“Valerie,” Valerie heard Lynda exclaim from beside her, feeling how Lynda’s hand grabbed her upper arm. “Let’s go meet Brian!” Valerie nodded in agreement, and followed Lynda and Mabel where they were walking before her towards the Slytherin team who were all standing together, cheering and celebrating their victory.

“Brian!” Mabel exclaimed once she spotted her big brother in the crowd, and sprinted forward towards him. He turned around and crouched down so that he could wrap his arms around her in a big embrace.

“Bumble-bee!” exclaimed Brian, lifting his little sister up and spinning around with her in his arms. The nickname Brian seemed to have for his little sister made Valerie smile, sometimes she herself wished she had a sibling. “Did you enjoy the game?” he asked once he put her down. He was still crouching before her as he was so much taller than her, and stroke a strand of hair behind her ear so that he could see her face.

Mabel nodded excitedly, making her hair swirl around her face and covering it once again. “You were great, big brother!”

“Could’ve been better, though.” Lynda said, waving her wand in front of her and throwing a charm towards Brian. A small silver badge in the shape of a star appeared on his Quidditch robe. Brian looked down and tilted the badge so he could read what it said.

“Second best.” he read, chuckling at his gift. “Thank you, Lynda. Ever so nice to me.”

“Well, you didn’t expect me to say that you’re better than me, did you?” Lynda shook her head, but smiled at him.

Brian smiled, and turned to look at Valerie.

“Valerie!” he exclaimed, taking a step forward towards her and grabbing her upper arm in a gentle grip. “There is someone I want you to meet.”

“Wow, you can’t even let me congratulate you first?” Valerie chuckled, knowing who he was going to introduce her to.

“It’s not that important. But this is, though.” he said and dragged her along to the rest of the Quidditch players, positioning her in front of a very tall boy with chocolate brown hair. He turned around at the sound of Brian’s voice, making eye contact with Valerie. His eyes were a deep brown, with a depth to them that made Valerie feel like she was going to drown in their darkness.

“Hello, Valerie.” he said with a charming smile, stretching his hand forward to shake hers. “I’m Jonathan.”


	17. Socialising

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, lovelies :)
> 
> Another chapter for you. I hope it's not terrible.
> 
> Happy (late) Thanksgiving!
> 
> (Can you say Happy Black Friday? Is that a thing you say? Idk, I'm not American)

Slytherin won. It was no surprise to Tom, he knew his house always won. Yet everyone was cheering like it was something rare, like it was not just yet another Quidditch game. It was not even the finale, so it seemed completely pointless to Tom. Even Malfoy had jumped up from his seat next to his Lord and started cheering when Slytherin won, but he soon had realised that Tom did not approve of his behaviour, and quickly sat down next to him again, only applauding his house for winning.

“My Lord,” said Malfoy once the Slytherin spectators had gone down to congratulate the Quidditch players for winning, and the Gryffindors had disappeared to Merlin knows where. “For how long are we going to be sat here?”

Tom shot Malfoy a glance of annoyance, making Malfoy lower his head in shame, knowing he should not have questioned his Lord’s ways.

“For as long as I desire.” Tom answered simply. He turned from Malfoy to look down at the pitch once again, seeing the crowd of green and silver blur together. He spotted the blonde mess of hair almost in the middle of everything. She was looking happy, yet Tom could see that she looked rather uncomfortable in the middle of everything. She was wearing a smile on her face, but her body kept twisting around, and her hands couldn’t seem to keep still. They were up in her hair to get it out of her face, down to straighten her black skirt, and, inbetween, constantly twirling her ring around her finger.

“What are you looking at, my Lord?” Tom heard Malfoy ask beside him, drawing him out from his train of thoughts. He turned to look at the blond boy, seeing that he was squinting into the direction Tom had been looking in his best attempt to try and see what he was looking at.

“I beg your pardon?” Tom said with gritted teeth, making sure to keep his voice low in case anyone was around to hear their conversation. He would not want anyone to realise how cruel he could actually be. Malfoy looked back at Tom, his eyes widening as he saw Tom’s stern stare.

“I’m sorry, my Lord.” Malfoy said quickly, shuffling a bit where he was sat. “I did not mean to be nosy. I was just intrigued by-”

“I do not care about what you are intrigued by, Malfoy.” Tom interrupted him, turning to look down at the pitch again, seeing how the green and silver crowd began to disperse and disappear from the pitch, presumably to continue the celebration in the Common Room. “And never question me again.” he added with a snarl.

“Yes, my Lord.” Malfoy said weakly. “Sorry, my Lord.”

* * *

 

When Tom got to the Common Room he realised that it was a mistake, the room was so crowded that Tom practically had to drag his body across the walls to get to his Dormitory. Once he stood by the stairs up to the boys’ Dormitory he spotted Valerie across the room. She was standing with some sort of drink in her hand- a drink Tom knew was not pumpkin juice- while talking to no one other than Jonathan Wilson. Tom felt his chest ignite with a burning sense of a feeling that was very unusual for him to feel. He could not quite describe it, it was a deep anger- that, he knew- but there was also some sort of uncomfortable feeling, a feeling that made him want to walk up to her and drag her away from that hideous bloke.

But Tom could contain himself. He stood still by the stairs, watching as she was laughing at his jokes, talking, smiling. Wilson was doing the same, turning on that charm of his that Tom recognised easily, for he could do the same. But it was different when Wilson used it. He did not use it in a very shrewd manner, Tom thought. It was so bluntly obvious that he was not being sincere, yet Valerie was looking at him with stars in her eyes, making that feeling burn even hotter in Tom’s chest.

Just as Tom was about to turn around and walk up to the Dormitory, not wanting to see more of what Valerie was doing with that half-blood, Valerie’s gaze flickered to meet his. The smile she previously had been wearing on her face faded quicker than Tom would have been able to say ‘Quidditch’, which automatically made Tom furrow his eyebrows. She seemed to notice his stern, angry reaction, and swallowed hard while her gaze flickered down to look at the drink in her hand instead. 

Tom was, once again, just about to turn around and head up the stairs when he heard his name be called. He looked towards where the voice came from and realised it was Wilson, making Tom let out a deep sigh. Tom could see that Valerie was not particularly fond of the action Wilson had made, as her head snapped to look up at Wilson, her eyes wide as globes as they roamed over his face in a desperate attempt to stop her new friend from what he was doing, but -of course- Wilson did not care about what she had to say.

“Why don’t you come here for a moment?” Wilson waved to Tom, a smug smile spreading across his face, making Tom wanting to roll his eyes, but did not as he was not as bad at suppressing his true emotions, unlike Wilson. Instead Tom nodded politely, striding over to the two Slytherin’s across the room. Once he stood next to Wilson, across from Valerie, he connected his hands behind his back, pasting on his most nonchalant face for them to see that he did not care about what was going on.

“Is there something in particular you want from me, Wilson?” Tom said in a monotone voice, finding it difficult not to snarl at the tall brunette. He gazed at Wilson, seeing that the smug smile was still pasted onto his face, although Tom could not exactly figure out why he was smiling at him the way he did, he knew it was not out of joy of being in Tom’s presence. There was something going on in his mind that Tom would have to figure out.

“Well, I thought you looked so terribly lonely standing over there, alone, by the stairs, so I thought I would invite you to come here to socialise with us.” Wilson explained. That smug smile, along with a certain twinkle in the corner of his eye, exposed him of his lie, but Tom did not bother to say anything. 

“Have you met Valerie?” Wilson continued, turning to show off Valerie like she was nothing but broomstick he would have gotten for his birthday. An object he showed of very proudly. “She’s new here, a transfer student, and I must admit that she is quite the charming girl.”

“We have spoken a couple of times.” Tom said eloquently, his gaze wandering over to look at Valerie for a brief moment before looking back at Wilson. He could see that his response had caused a reaction from Valerie that was anything else but positive as she shuffled slightly where she stood, her gaze wandering from Tom down to her drink once again.

“Aren’t you the lucky one then, Riddle?” Wilson asked rhetorically, snaking his long arm around Valerie’s petite waist, causing Tom to bite the inside of his cheek. “She is one rare diamond, isn't she?” he continued, squeezing her side lightly, causing her to look up at him with a faint smile across her face. Tom saw that she was not completely sincere with the smile, perhaps she even felt a bit uncomfortable in his grip, but there was a slight scarlet tint to her cheeks which indicated that she was flattered by the compliments he showered her in.

“I suppose so.” Tom said quietly, his eyes locked at Valerie. It had been a while since he had seen her up close, and he realised how much he actually enjoyed looking at her dainty face. Her pearly white skin, often with a tint of pink across the apples of her cheeks. Her golden blonde hair framing it, and the ocean blue eyes that had a depth to them that was almost indescribable. Valerie’s gaze flickered once more to Tom as she heard him utter those words, and for a while they kept looking at each other, no one saying anything to one another, but Tom could see how her eyes looked surprised, yet sad, by his words.

“Well,” Wilson cleared his throat, obviously noticing that they were staring at each other for an unusual long amount of time. “Sorry for leaving you, Riddle, but I promised Valerie earlier that I would show her the Trophy Room. Hope you don’t get too disappointed by getting left alone again.” his words came out arrogantly, spiked with venom as he clearly had gotten irritated that Valerie seemed interested in continuing to be around Tom.

“Of course not.” Tom said politely, taking a step back from the two who seemed to be glued together. He nodded goodbye to the two of them, getting a small, hesitant wave back from Valerie, before Wilson started to drag her along to the Trophy Room, although Valerie did not seem too keen on the idea. Tom watched them as they dissapeared from the Common Room, and could not help but to feel a slight weight pressuring his chest.


	18. The Trophy Room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> Okay, I just want to start of by saying that I can't believe it's December already. Wasn't it June just yesterday?
> 
> I also want to thank everyone for the amount of support I have gotten lately. It really makes me so happy to read your comments, and get notifications when you leave me a Kudos. It truly makes my day, you have no idea. :)
> 
> Now I will let you read this chapter. I hope you enjoy!

“So, where did you transfer from? I believe that you didn’t tell me.” Jonathan Wilson said, his arm still gently snaked around Valerie’s waist as he lead her down the corridors to the Trophy Room.

“No, I didn’t.” Valerie chuckled nervously. “I don’t really want to talk about it- if that’s okay.” she shook her head, pushing back the thoughts of her past and concentrating on her surroundings instead. Although Valerie had been a student of Hogwarts for two months she still did not quite know everything about the giant castle, and tried her best to remember where every room was located.

“Of course.” Jonathan said gently, rubbing his thumb over her hip in a soothing manner.

“Thank you.”

The rest of the walk was silent, only the two of them walking side by side while Jonathan kept pressing her closer to him. Valerie was not sure how to respond to the affection and touches of Jonathan as she had not quite experienced anything like it before, but she felt flattered that someone wanted to hold her.

“Here we are.” Jonathan announced as they stopped outside a grande door. Valerie looked up at the wall, spotting a small plaque next to the door on the wall.

_ “Trophy Room. No smudging.”  _ it said.

“Ready?” Jonathan asked, shooting Valerie a charming smile before opening the door, letting Valerie enter before himself. Valerie thought it was very gentlemanlike of him to do so, and appreciated his action.

“The room is always unlocked.” Jonathan explained with a chuckle, closing the door being him and walking up to Valerie where she stood a few steps into the large room, looking around at all the trophies, plates, cups, and awards that were being kept in crystal glass displays in the room. “Even after curfew.”

“Wow.” was all Valerie managed to say in response, being too fascinated by everything that was on display. She walked up to one of the displays and looked at the different awards and trophies that stood neatly in their places. She read all the small plaques that informed of whom the trophy had been awarded to, although she did not recognise any of the names.

“Quite neat, eh?” she heard Jonathan say as he walked up to her, also looking at the trophies. Valerie nodded in response and proceeded to walk to the next display.

“Have you won any awards?” she asked, turning to look at Jonathan where he stood only a few steps behind her. A bright smile spread across his face, as if it was just what he had wanted her to say, and nodded.

“In fact, I have.” he said proudly, walking up to a display a few feet away from where they were standing. “This one I got for my outstanding skills playing Quidditch.” Jonathan explained, pointing to a golden medal with a red and blue ribbon.

“Impressive.” Valerie said, realising right after it left her mouth how sarcastic she sounded while saying it. She looked up at Jonathan, seeing that he was already looking at her, the smile still pasted onto his face, but the glitter in his eyes had faded. “I really mean it. I would never be able to get an award for anything, ever. I am not that talented.” she chuckled nervously, while shaking her head in an attempt to correct what had gone wrong in their conversation.

“I’m sure you have some talents.” Jonathan said, changing his position so that he was standing in front of Valerie, licking his lips slightly. “I have been told that you are one bright witch.”

Valerie chuckled softly, knowing that it was Brian who had been spilling information about her to Jonathan. She looked down at her feet, feeling her cheeks heat up as Jonathan was looking at her with such an intense, yet gentle, stare.

“It doesn’t come naturally.” Valerie admitted, looking up to meet his gaze once again. “I do have to work really hard for it.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that.” Jonathan shrugged, taking a step closer toward her. “That is probably one of the reasons you were put in Slytherin. We are very ambitious, and determined to reach our goals.”

“I suppose so.” Valerie nodded slowly, still not being completely accepting of her new house. She went on to look at the next display, not knowing how to go on with the conversation with Jonathan. She felt as if he was looking at her in a way that she was not so familiar with, and it made her feel unsure of what to do.

“So, what do you like to do other than studying?” Jonathan asked, seemingly being determined to keep their conversation going. He walked up next to her once again, and looked into the display just like she was doing.

“I don’t know.” Valerie shrugged, trying to think of something. “I suppose I enjoy reading.”

“Isn’t that quite like studying, though?” Jonathan chuckled, seeming to look down upon her answer as if it was not valuable enough for him, but Valerie brushed it off.

“No, it’s not.” she chuckled softly, shaking her head. “But if that answer didn’t please you I can also tell you that I enjoy playing the violin.”

“The violin?” Jonathan repeated, turning to look at Valerie as it seemed to have sparked his interest. “Are you any good?”

Valerie shrugged, turning to look at Jonathan.

“I don’t know. I have been playing since I was little, but I wouldn’t say I’m ‘spectacular’ or anything. There was a time where I wasn’t allowed to play it, so I have forgotten some things, but now I am starting to learn it again.”

“Why weren’t you allowed to play it?” Jonathan asked, his eyebrows furrowing deeply. “Who didn’t let you? Was it your parents?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Valerie shook her head, taking a deep breath. “It’s in the past.”

Jonathan nodded, but Valerie could see that he was not pleased with her answer. Not that it was going to make Valerie talk about her past and her family, anyways. She was not comfortable talking about it, especially not to someone she recently just met, no matter how attractive and nice they were.

“Well,” Jonathan sighed. “I guess there isn’t that much more I can show you in here. Want to go somewhere else?”

“Where to?” Valerie asked, feeling a bit confused to his drastic change of subject and lack of interest for the room he had been so keen on showing her.

“Do you like animals?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at her while shooting her one of his charming smiles.

“I love animals!” Valerie exclaimed with a smile, having to contain herself from skipping in excitement.

“Me too.” Jonathan laughed softly, running his fingers through his chocolate brown hair. “Want to meet my toad?”

“I’d love to!” Valerie nodded, following Jonathan where he lead her out of the Trophy Room.

Jonathan led her back to the Slytherin Common Room, where the party was still ongoing, and told her to wait for him while he went to get his toad from his Dormitory. Valerie nodded and sat down in one of the sofas, looking around the room to see if she could spot Tom anywhere, but he was nowhere to be seen. Instead she saw Brian and Lynda stand across the room, laughing and joking around as usual. She caught their attention and they smiled at her, and Brian even winked at her once he spotted Brian striding across the room, up to Valerie.

“Let’s go outside, yeah?” Jonathan suggested, holding a bright green toad in his hands. “Where it’s much more quiet.”

“Sure.” Valerie agreed, standing up from the sofa. They began to leave the room, but Valerie turned around to look at her friends one last time. They were both looking at Valerie, smiling and mocking her by making kissing faces. Valerie rolled her eyes at her friends’ childishness, and walked up beside Jonathan.

They sat down in one of the windows of the cloisters in the Viaduct Courtyard. There were other students sitting in the courtyard, as it was a very popular hang-out spot, but Valerie did not recognise any of the students there.

“Valerie, meet Mae.” Jonathan said, holding up his toad so that Valerie could stroke its head.

“Nice to meet you Mae.” Valerie chuckled softly, stroking its head repeatedly with her index finger. “She’s beautiful, Jonathan.”

“She is a beauty, indeed.” Jonathan agreed, looking at his toad. “Do you want to hold her?”

Valerie looked up at Jonathan, feeling uncertain. She was afraid that she would drop the toad, or that it would jump from her grasp and dissappear, but after Jonathan gave her a reassuring smile she agreed to hold it.

“She likes you.” Jonathan said with a smile, which Valerie responded to by scoffing softly. Valerie concentrated herself on the toad in her hands, making sure it stayed where she wanted it to, but could not help but to notice how Jonathan was looking at her.

“I like you too.” he said after a while. Valerie looked up to meet his gaze, feeling how her heart started beating faster as she saw how his deep, dark brown eyes looked at her with a certain spark to them.

“What?” she breathed, stopping to stroke the toad she was holding. Valerie did not have time to further her question before she felt Jonathan lean in and press his soft, warm lips to hers.


	19. Hallway Happenings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi.
> 
> This is the part where I say something, either about the chapter or something special that's going on in my life, but idk what to say. Cheers. :)

Tom was sitting by the window, reading a book, when Wilson bursted through the door. He strode up to his bed and picked up his toad that was sat on his bedside table. That stupid toad that Wilson was so fond of, Tom did not like it. It was annoying him with its noises, and sometimes Tom would find it sitting on his bed as he walked into the room.

“Riddle.” Wilson greeted, walking up to him with his toad in his hands. “How’s it going?”

“Just fine, thank you.” Tom responded with a monotone voice. He was not in the mood to handle Wilson’s arrogance, and would much rather be left alone. He was also somewhat angry with him for being with Valerie, knowing that he would damage the purity she had.

“So, how do you know Valerie?” he continued, either not acknowledging or not caring about Tom’s obvious lack of interest in the attempted conversation started by him. Tom looked up from his book and was met with Wilson’s pair of brown eyes, staring straight at him, with a darkness to them.

“I don’t.” Tom said, trying to play it of as a simple response, yet he could hear the sharp tone in his own voice. He shook his head and looked down into his book once again, not wanting to seem bothered by Wilson’s question, although he was. “I only helped her with an exam in Potions, or else she would have failed.”

“And why would you care about that?” Wilson scoffed, stroking the head of his toad with his index finger in a rhythmical motion. “I have never seen you care about anyone else’s grades but your own before.”

Tom let out a deep sigh, feeling how he was about to lose his temper. He did not have the patience, and he was already tired of being around people, even though it was only midday. Being forced to talk to the perpetuous half-blood, about the girl he so desperately wanted to avoid, did not help his case. 

“She’s new. I was doing it solely out of courtesy- something you wouldn’t know of.” he explained, adding the last part to mark that he was not playing around, and would not let Wilson stomp him down only because he was a year older, and more popular, than him.

“I beg your pardon?” Wilson chuckled, taking a step forward towards Tom where he was still sat in the window. “Are you looking for a fight, Riddle?”

Tom masked the smile that wanted to creep up upon his face, knowing that he was exceptionally better at dueling than Wilson. He would much want to duel him to prove just how much better than him he was, but resisted the tempting thought knowing that Wilson was not worth the time. Atleast not for the moment.

“It was only an observation.” Tom stated, shooting Wilson a small smile that was noticeably fake. He could see how Wilson’s face twitched out of anger, but instead of lashing out he took a deep breath, and to Tom’s surprise, he began laughing.

“Well, no matter what,  _ I _ am the one with the girl now. In fact, she’s waiting for me in the Common Room at this very moment.” Wilson nudged Tom’s shoulder with his fist, shooting him a smug look drenched in confidence. “See you later, Riddle.”

Tom watched Wilson as he left the dormitory with his toad in his hands, reflecting over what Wilson had just told him. Why did he phrase it like that? Like it was some sort of competition over Valerie’s attention and affection. Did Wilson not realise that Tom could not care less about her? The irritation was building up faster the more he thought about the whole thing, and before he knew it he slammed the book, that had been forgotten, in his lap shut and stomped over to his bed. He put the book down and put on his black coat, feeling the need to get out of the room.

As soon as he left the Dormitory he was met with Lestrange and Malfoy in the Common Room. They were both laughing and talking as they were walking, probably towards the Dormitory, Tom thought, but as soon as they met Tom their smiles dropped, and they hung their heads slightly.

“My Lord.” Lestrange mumbled in a small voice, nodding his head to greet Tom. Tom swallowed his boiling irritation that was still growing inside of him, and managed to calm down slightly.

“Lestrange,” he nodded, turning to look at Malfoy who looked to be frightened, judging by the wide blue eyes and his face that was as pale as a sheet. “Malfoy.” Tom greeted him as well, making Malfoy stiff posture relax just the smallest bit as he greeted him back.

“What are you two up to?” Tom asked, connecting his hands behind his back as he looked at the two boys who looked rather uncomfortable where they stood next to each other.

“We were only just going up to the Dormitory, my Lord.” Lestrange explained, giving Malfoy a slight glance. He nervously ran a hand through his dark curly hair, his eyes roaming over Tom’s face as he awaited his reaction.

“To do what exactly?” Tom had actually no real interest in what his posse was up to when Tom had not informed them to do something in particular, but he wanted to make sure the were not off doing something Tom did not approve of.

“We were just going up to get ready for supper.” Malfoy blurted out, giving Lestrange a quick glance before looking back at Tom, seeing that his grey eyes were ablaze. “My Lord.” he added quickly, realising that he had made the mistake of talking to Tom as his equal, something Tom had highly advised them not to do.

“Is it time for supper already?” Tom shifted his position slightly, readjusting his arms so that they were crossed over his chest instead of connected behind his back. His gaze wandered between the two boys, enjoying seeing how his intimidating character made them quiver, and proceed their actions with great precaution.

“Well,” Lestrange began, his voice almost a bit frail. “Not quite, my Lord, but we figured- Malfoy and I- that we could make time go faster if we just simply spent our time up in the Dormitory.”

“And why do you suppose time would fly faster if you were in the Dormitory instead of another part of the school? The Library, perhaps?” Tom had lost all interest in the actual conversation at that point, realising that the two boys were not up to anything particularly suspicious, but he enjoyed playing cat and mouse with them.

“We- we could go to the Library.” Malfoy interposed, nodding his head nervously as he let his eyes roam between looking at the two Slytherin’s, waiting for an answer from either of them.

“The Library sounds great, actually.” Lestrange agreed, also starting to nod his head. He grabbed Malfoy by the sleeve of his jumper and started to drag him away from Tom, and out of the dungeon, mumbling his goodbyes to his Lord.

Tom scoffed watching the two quickly stumble away from Tom, and waited for them to leave the dungeon completely before continuing his walk, although he was not as irritated as he had been in the Dormitory. Tom walked through the corridor, hearing something coming from behind him. He turned around and saw that a girl with curly red hair was standing above another girl, a Ravenclaw with brown hair. Tom remembered them as Olive Hornby and Myrtle Warren.

He did not care for what was going on between the two girls, but he had overheard Hornby teasing Warren before. Apparently that was what was happening again, and all Tom wanted was to just walk away and pretend he did not notice what was happening. Unfortunately for him he could not, as a little first year Slytherin, Hollie Holmes, came up and tapped Tom on the arm.

“Are you not supposed to help her?” Holmes asked, her big brown eyes blinking repeatedly as she spoke. “You are a Prefect, and you have helped  _ me _ find the Library before.”

Tom pushed away the urge to roll his eyes and sigh, realising that he could not get out of the situation with an audience around him. Instead, he nodded and told Holmes that he was just about to interfere. Holmes seemed to light up at that statement, and watched with wide eyes as Tom strode over to the two girls, positioning himself in front of Hornby in a way that made it seem like he was shielding the kneeling Warren.

“What are you up to, Hornby?” Tom asked in a gentle tone, as if he was casually talking to her, which seemed to throw the redhead off a bit. Whether it was for the fact that Tom had talked to her in that way, or because he had interfered in the first place, Tom did not know.

“Nothing, Riddle.” Hornby stated simply, shaking her head nonchalantly. “Myrtle and I were just having some casual banter when she dropped her glasses to the floor.”

Tom turned his head to look down at the Ravenclaw who was silently sobbing where she was kneeling on the floor, not even looking up to see what was happening before her.

“Doesn’t seem so casual to me.” Tom shook his head, looking back at Hornby. He could see how she swallowed hard, realising that she could not escape the situation.

“Are you going to tell professor Dippet about this?” she then asked in a hushed tone, not wanting the audience that had formed around them to hear her.

“Not if you simply just walk away right this instance, and leave her alone.” Tom stated, sounding causal, and gentle even, but there was a hint of sharpness to his words that made Hornby realise that he was being serious. She nodded her head, and spun around on her heel, walking away from the happening, with her head hanging slightly to avoid making eye contact with anyone.

“Are you okay?” Tom asked Warren once Hornby turned around the corner, turning around to stretch out his hand for her to take. Warren finally looked up from the floor, her gaze meeting Tom’s.

“Oh, I’m fine.” she stated, but her puffy red eyes, and trembling voice said otherwise. She took Tom’s hand and let him help her get to her feet. “Thank you, Riddle.” she said quietly before disappearing away from the crowd as well. Tom figured she was making her way towards the girl’s bathroom to sulk in one of the stalls.

Once Tom saw how the crowd began to disperse, he noticed a pair of blue eyes on him. He turned to see Valerie stand a few feet away, with Wilson by her side with his stupid toad in his hands. Tom locked eyes with Valerie, feeling how he did know what else to do but to look at her. She did not seem too bothered by it, and he could even see how a slight smile was spreading across her face before Wilson wrapped his arms around her waist and led her into the opposite direction from where Tom was standing dumbfounded by the unexpected occurrence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I have actually no idea what Olive Hornby looked like. I couldn't find anything that described her appearance and I have always imagined her with red, curly hair. Please do correct me if I am wrong, and you know what she actually looks like. I would really appreaciate that.


	20. Kisses and Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I hope you've had a wonderful week.
> 
> I can't wrap my head around the fact that it's Christmas in only 10 days (or 9 here where I live in Sweden since we celebrate it on the 24th. I know, it's weird).
> 
> So this chapter might seem short, idk, but it's an important one as it's tying in to the story developement. I hope you won't be too bored or anything like that.
> 
> Enjoy! :)

“So, where to next?” Jonathan asked, wrapping his arm tighter around Valerie’s waist. He peered down at her with a smile that would have made butterflies dance in her stomach only five minutes ago, but for some reason it made her feel slightly uncomfortable.

“Actually I-” Valerie chuckled slightly to work up the courage, fearing that she would upset Jonathan by her words. “I actually want to go back to the Dormitory and get ready for supper.” she said, hoping that her voice sounded gentle, and not harshly rejectful as she had feared.

“Yeah, no, of course.” Jonathan nodded, his smile still remaining pasted onto his face. “I’ll escort you.”

Valerie let out a sigh in relief, realising that Jonathan had not been upset by what she said. Jonathan continued to hold her around her waist as they walked towards the dungeon, but even though Jonathan did not seem upset by what Valerie had said, the lump in her stomach still remained, and she did not know how to get rid of it, or why it was still there.

Once they had entered the Slytherin dungeon by saying the password, Jonathan escorted Valerie into the Common Room, where there were other students enjoying each others company. Valerie spotted Lynda and Brian sitting in the sofa next to the fireplace, and once they spotted her they started snickering, subtle enough so that only Valerie would realise.

“This is where I leave you, then.” Jonathan announced, positioning himself in front of Valerie so that he was towering over her. Jonathan was tall, taller than Tom, and by that also being taller than Valerie. Much taller. Jonathan’s arm was still snaked around her waist where he stood, looking down at her with his deep brown eyes that shone warmly in the dim light from the fire coming from the fireplace.

“Thank you.” Valerie said, smiling slightly.

“For what?” Jonathan smirked down at her, his eyes flickering down to her lips for a brief moment before locking with her blue eyes once again.

“Everything.”

Jonathan nodded, chuckling softly.

“Sure.” he said. “Any time.”

He leaned down and softly pressed his lips against hers. Valerie could feel how everyone in the room was staring at them at that very moment, which made her feel hesitant to kiss him back, but she shrugged it off, feeling like she would hurt Jonathan’s feelings if she did not kiss him back. After a brief moment Jonathan pulled away, a sparkling smile proudly spread across his face.

“See you at supper?” he asked, raising his eyebrows questionably.

Valerie hesitated, looking over at her friends who were still sat in the sofa, looking at her and Jonathan with wide eyes and slightly mocking smiles pasted onto their faces. Jonathan turned his head to see where she was looking, making Lynda and Brian quickly- and not so subtly- turn to look at eachother instead, trying to play it off like they had no idea what was going on by the stairs.

“I see.” Jonathan mumbled, nodding as he turned to look down at Valerie again. “You want to be with your friends.”

“Yes, I- I’m sorry.” Valerie said softly, feeling genuinely bad for rejecting Jonathan once again. She entwined her hands in front of her and started to spin her ring around her finger, feeling how the lump in her stomach started growing once again, making her stomach churn.

“No, no. It’s okay. I get it.” Jonathan shook his head, chuckling softly as he lifted his finger to stroke it across her cheek. “I will see you later, okay?”

“Okay.” Valerie smiled weakly, letting out a small sigh. Jonathan smiled back, turning to look at Lynda and Brian once again, seeing that they had gone back to stare at the exchange. He nodded and waved them goodbye, making them freeze where they sat. Brian stiffly waved him goodbye before Jonathan turned to head up to the Dormitory with Mae, who was calmly sitting in the palm of his hand.

Valerie swallowed hard before she managed to get her weak legs to carry her over to where her friends were sat over in the leather sofa. She sat down across from them, letting out a heavy sigh as she crashed into its cushions. Everything had worked out fine, Jonathan did not seem to be angry or upset with her, and everything that had lead up to that moment had been fine- great, actually- yet the lump in her stomach still remained, aching tremendously, causing Valerie to feel nauseated.

“Well,” Brian quickly said, leaning closer to Valerie. “What happened? What did you guys do? I want to hear  _ everything. _ ” his amber eyes were glowing, partially coming from the fire beside them, but also from the pure excitement and anticipation he could not manage to suppress.

“Wow, calm down.” Valerie chuckled, shifting to a more comfortable position. “He showed me the Trophy Room, and then he let me meet Mae. We sat in the entrance courtyard, and we were talking.”

Both Lynda and Brian stared at her, waiting for her to continue. They soon realised that Valerie was finished with what she was telling, and both, in unison let out sighs in annoyance, leaving Valerie feeling stunned. She knew Brian and Lynda were friends- best friends- but them acting like conjoined twins always surprised her, even though they happened to do so quite often.

“Was that _ it _ ?” Lynda asked, throwing her arms out. “We want to hear the spicy details. Did you guys do anything else? Anything interesting?”

“What do you mean by that?” Valerie laughed slightly, looking at Lynda with narrowed eyes, not sure if she wanted to tell her everything as she feared they would go and tell other students, which could potentially spark rumours about her and Jonathan.

As Valerie was thinking about them telling other kids, an image of Tom appeared in the back of her head, but she quickly shoved that thought away. Tom was nothing to her anymore, and apparently they had not even been friends in the first place.

_ “Acquaintances.” _

She could hear Tom’s silky voice echo inside her head. That was what he had told Jonathan that they were, back at they party earlier that day.

“I obviously mean something else than just talking and meeting amphibians.” Lynda sighed, the annoyance in her voice made it clear that she did not want to play any games, but it did not stop Valerie. She would not kiss and tell.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Valerie shook her head, furrowing her eyebrows questionably. “What is it that we were supposed to do?”

“Kiss!” Brian blurted out, his voice coming out louder than expected and causing the other students in the Common Room to turn and look at them.

“Oh, Merlin.” Lynda sighed, placing her face in the palms of her hands. “You are both such morons. He kissed her right in front of us, Brian!” she shot her head up and looked beside her, drilling her intense stare right into him, gesticulating towards the stairs where Valerie and Jonathan had previously been standing.

“Oh.” was all Brian said, looking down at his hands in his lap. The three of them were quiet for a long while before Valerie could not hold back an ebullient laughter, loud enough to cause the other Slytherin’s in the room to, once again, turn to look at the three friends who were sat in the sofas. Soon enough Lynda and Brian also joined in, their laughters filling the whole dungeon, which seemed to annoy the other Slytherins in the room.

* * *

 

Later that evening, when Lynda and Valerie were on their way to the girl’s bathroom to wash up before bed, Lynda dragged Valerie into a remote room, away from the rest of the students.

“What are you doing?” Valerie asked, looking at her friend in confusion as to why she would have done that.

“You never told me when happened earlier today- with Jonathan.” Lynda said, still gripping Valerie’s arm in a steady, yet not hurtful, grip. Her emerald green eyes looked straight at Valerie, making her feel defeated almost in an instant. There was something about those deep green eyes that made it so easy to be persuaded.

“What is it that you want to know?” Valerie asked, furrowing her eyebrows. “There was nothing special about what happened that you already haven’t seen.”

“Well, I don’t know, that’s why I asked!” Lynda exclaimed, shaking her head so that her purple hair swirled around her face in a chaotic mess.

“Fine!” Valerie snapped, pulling away her arm from Lynda’s grip. “We did kiss once before, in the courtyard, and he may or may not have asked me to go with him to the Yule Ball. Happy?”

“Overjoyed.” Lynda said in a low voice that was spiked with sarcasm and irritation.

Valerie rolled her eyes. She did not like being forced to do something, and she could already feel how the lump began to grow in her stomach as she regretted saying anything in the first place.

“Hey,” Lynda said, her voice much more gentle this time. “Are you okay? You look like you’re going to be sick.”

“I’m fine.” Valerie stated, swallowing hard as she nodded her head.

Lynda looked at her for a long while, her eyes roaming over her face.

“This is a big deal for you, isn’t it?” she said in a lower voice, taking a step closer to Valerie.

“What do you mean?”

“Val, have you-” Lynda stopped herself, which surprised Valerie as she never usually did that. Lynda was never afraid to speak her mind. “Have you ever done anything like this before?”

“No, I’ve been too young. You’re not allowed to attend the ball if you’re not atleast a fourth year.” Valerie shook her head, her eyebrows deeply furrowed in confusion and curiosity.

“No, I mean,” Lynda sighed. “Have you ever been with a boy before?”

“Are you asking me if I have ever had a boyfriend before?”

Lynda nodded slowly, not letting her eyes slip away from Valerie’s. Valerie broke the eye contact by looking down at her shoes, her fingers starting to twirl her ring.

“No.” she mumbled. “I had never even kissed anyone before today.”

“That’s okay.” Lynda responded in a gentle voice. “Perhaps you just haven’t fancied a boy that hard before.”

Valerie looked up again, meeting Lynda’s gaze which had now changed into a more calm green instead of that dark tint that had been lurking previously. Lynda was wrong, Valerie had fancied a boy before, when she was still living back home. Back home where she actually belonged. But Valerie did not feel like tackling that conversation that night. It was for another day.

“Precisely.” she said instead, starting to walk towards the bathroom again.


	21. Admirable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holidays!
> 
> I am in shock that it's Christmas in a couple of days. I do not feel the Christmas spirit whatsoever, but that's fine. I don't like Christmas anyways, haha.
> 
> As it's the Holiday season, and winter break is now here, I have decided to take some time from this fanfiction to focus on my life a little bit. But for those who like reading my fic, you don't have to worry for I will be back once school (or work, or whatever you do) is starting again. I will just take a short break during... well... break.
> 
> That being said, this will be the last chapter of the year, but I do hope you will come back and read it when I start uploading again in 2018. (what the hell, twenty eighteen? mad)
> 
> I do not know the exact date I will upload the next chapter, but it will be somewhere in January, on a Friday as usual.
> 
> Have a lovely Holiday, and a happy new year! :)
> 
> \- BabyAce

Sunday. The day Tom spent by himself, and himself only. Never did he waste his time being around other people, as that was what he had to do for the rest of the week. Today was no different. He had just been brushing his teeth in the prefect’s bathroom, and was now on his way to the Library to read. Something he usually did, even though he had read almost every book in the library already.

Tom settled for the book “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”, a book by Newt Scamander. Tom knew that Scamander had been a student at Hogwarts, a Hufflepuff, and he had read the book before. He did not care much about all the magical creatures, and he was not a big fan of animals or creatures, at all. Yet he settled for that book as there was a chapter in there that he was quite fond of reading.

Tom sat down by one of the tables inbetween the shelves, and began to read, instantly disconnecting from the world and becoming indulged by the words written. He had just come to his favourite chapter, and had read about half a page of it, when a shadow was cast over the book. Irritated by the disturbance, Tom looked up to see messy blonde hair framing a porcelain face with rosy cheeks.

“Hi.” Valerie greeted with a faint smile. Her voice was frail, and trembling slightly. Tom figured she was nervous to talk to him, judging by the tone of her voice and how she was frantically spinning her ring around her finger.

“Campbell.” Tom responded flatly, causing Valerie to shuffle where she stood. She clearly had not gotten used to him referring to her by her surname yet. Valerie inhaled sharply before she continued to speak, her eyes roaming restlessly over his face. And although Tom was looking directly into her eyes, he could not seem to get in contact with them.

“I just-” she began, but stopped mid sentence, letting out a small, nervous chuckle. She cleared her throat and shook her head, finally looking into Tom’s eyes. “I know you don’t want to have anything to do with me- and that’s okay- but I just wanted to say that I saw you yesterday, in the corridor.”

Tom rose an eyebrow, not understanding where she was going with what she was saying. Valerie seemed to realise that Tom was puzzled, and let out yet another soft chuckle. She motioned to the chair beside Tom, asking for permission to sit down. Tom nodded slightly in approval, and watched her as she sat down, and turning to look at him again.

“What you did- for Myrtle- standing up to that bully was-” she paused once again, her eyes wandering over the bookshelf in front of them as she was looking for the right word. Tom watched her patiently as she was thinking, a slight crease appearing inbetween her eyebrows. “Admirable.” she finally said, looking back at Tom again.

Tom rose his eyebrows, being partially puzzled, but also surprised. He was taken by surprise by her comment. Out of all the words she could’ve said she chose ‘admirable’? Tom did not understand why she admired him for doing that, or admired him at all as he had been so cold towards her. Valerie seemed to realise his confusion, and giggled lowly as she looked down at her hands that were folded in her lap.

“I know, it’s dumb.” she shook her head. “But I really  _ do _ think it’s admirable. It’s not easy standing up to bullies, and when you do it for another person it’s just-” she inhaled deeply, looking back up at Tom. “I know you aren’t too fond of people- or having friends, for that matter- yet you helped Myrtle yesterday. It’s admirable, Tom.”

Tom shrugged his shoulders, closing the book he had previously been reading before Valerie had approached him.

“I’m a Prefect.” he said, without any elaboration. “It’s my duty to look out for my fellow students.”

“Well, it was nice of you nonetheless.”

There was dead silence between them after that, and Tom felt how the tension was lying thick in the air. Valerie had shifted to look down at her ring, and was rhythmically twirling it around her finger. Tom, on the other hand, could not do anything else but to keep looking at Valerie. Her blonde hair had fallen down, covering most of her face, but Tom could see her slightly pointy nose, and her long thick eyelashes that reminded him of the wings of a butterfly every time she blinked. Her cheeks were rosy, and her lips slightly chapped, yet they looked soft.

“How’s Wilson?” Tom blurted out, having to interrupt his own train of thoughts that erupted when he was looking at her profile. Valerie looked up at Tom, her blue eyes notably wider than usual.

“Jonathan?” she chuckled softly, as if she was uncomfortable with his sudden question. “I don’t know- I mean- I suppose he’s doing well, but I don’t know. It’s not like I am with him much and, you know, it’s- it’s-” she stopped herself, probably realising that she made no sense. She took a deep breath and stroke some of her hair behind her ear. “He’s fine.”

Tom nodded slowly, not letting his eyes wander from her, now, scarlet face. Valerie seemed flustered, and her eyes did not seem to want to rest at a certain spot as they kept roaming around the room. She cleared her throat and looked back at Tom, pursing her lips.

“Why were you wondering?” she asked, tilting her head slightly to the side, looking like a confused puppy.

Tom shrugged, turning to graze the cover of the book with his index finger. He suddenly felt like he could not look right at her as a feeling of being suffocated crept up upon him.

“You two seem fond of each other.” he remarked, tracing the golden tails of the dragons that were imprinted onto the black book.

“We’ve only just met.” Valerie mumbled, also turning away to look down onto the table in front of them. “But atleast he doesn’t reach out for friendship only to burn the bridge when I’m standing right on it.”

Tom’s head snapped up and turned to look at Valerie. He was genuinely surprised by her audacious comment. It was not something he had expected her to say, and he had to admit to himself that he was impressed. She had stood up for herself from time to time, but not in a way that sent Tom to feel a stinging sensation in his chest.

“I’m sorry, that was rude.” Valerie apologised, her eyes meeting Tom’s. Her voice sounded just as pleading as her blue eyes looked. “I didn’t mean it to come out like that. I’m not upset about what you did- or, well, I am, but that’s for another time. What I meant was that I feel safe around him, and it feels like he won’t hurt me.”

Tom felt himself getting irritated the more Valerie went on to talk about how good of a person Wilson was. He knew that it was just an act, and a feeling of discomfort inside his chest continued to bother him. It was a burning, pressuring sensation that made it feel like he had troubles breathing. Yet he sat still in his seat, examining Valerie as she was talking. Her voice was fruity, and more high-pitched than normal, the apples of her cheeks were a bright scarlet colour, and her ocean blue eyes were almost sparkling as she went on rambling.

“I’m sorry, I’m talking too much.” Valerie apologised once she noticed for how long she had been talking, and chuckled nervously as she stroke some hair away from her face. “How have you been,  _ Tom _ ?” she said his name with a meek voice, as if she was testing him.

“Fine, thank you.” Tom said, his eyes staying locked with hers. He did not know how to react to Valerie’s attempt for truce, and was still contemplating what to do as she began to smile.

“Oh, come on.” she chuckled softly. “You must have something going on in your life.”

Tom shook his head.

“No, I don’t.” it was partially true, he did not have anything in particular going on at the moment, but there was something he was planning on doing and it was not something he felt he wanted to tell Valerie, and therefore he did not mention it.

Valerie’s smile fainted, and she nodded understandingly. She took a deep breath, repositioning herself on the chair into a more comfortable position before she looked back at Tom once again.

“Are you going to the ball?” she asked, her voice sounding less confident, almost a bit sad. Tom had completely forgotten about the ball. It was not something he was very intrigued by. He actually thought it was quite pathetic, and a waste of time. Why waste time dancing and socializing when there were other, more important, things that you should be doing?

“No, I am not.” Tom stated, shaking his head.

“Why not?” Valerie asked, tilting her head to the side with furrowed eyebrows, seeming to be puzzled by his statement.

Tom shrugged his shoulders.

“I do not like it.”

“What? Dancing?”

Tom thought about what he was going to say. It felt weird not having an immediate response ready, as he always had, and he did not know why he found it so hard to find things to say to her.

“I’d rather be focusing on school.” he said after a while, not being able to come up with a better response. It bothered him, but he did not want Valerie to know that.

“Oh.” was all Valerie said in response, her gaze flickering down to the floor. She was sat still, looking down at their feet on the stone floor, neither of them said anything for a long time. Tom was watching her as her eyes were glued to the floor. It seemed like she was in deep thought, and Tom could not help but to wonder what she was thinking right in that moment.

It sprung an idea in his head, an idea he now wanted so desperately to achieve.

“I need to go.” was all Tom said as he stood up, taking the book with him. Valerie looked up with a puzzled expression, watching him as he started walking away from her.

“Okay.” Tom heard her say in a quiet voice before he dissapeared behind another bookshelf to find the book he now wanted to analyze.


End file.
